Los Bowerbanks: Me and My Two Boys

Blessings.

2012-01-30T17:59:00.000Z

My dear husband has been in Virginia for over a week now. He still has one more to go, and Logan is missing his daddy. I have felt so blessed with the friends I have made here, and am continuing to make. They have made the time go by fast. I have had dinners, play dates, and just plain fun this week. The Lord has known my fears and worries, being alone with my little tot at home. He has showered me with blessings, through so many people.

What has Lo been up to? This little guy is keeping me on my toes. Good thing my healthy workout habit is still in full force, giving me so much energy to keep up with him. He is a shaker and mover, and is starting to use the word No, but understands that he shouldn't respond to mom that way. He blushes when he says No. It is important for me to let him know that it is okay to voice your opinion, but to use manners. Example, No Thank you. What I got in the car the other day, NO you. The good think he is trying.

I have a treat bag for my primary class in a big tote bag, and Logan knows that there is candy in the treat bag. While driving on the Autobahn this morning I hear a familiar crinkling sound. I adjust my mirror to get a glimpse at the boy, and he has 5 Hersey's hugs in his hand. He had managed to take off all the wrappers, and was getting ready to eat them. I tell him Logan can you wait until after lunch, he says, "No ,you." and proceeds to shove them all in his mouth. There was nothing I could do.

Favorite of the week: Movie Despicable Me

Lately

2012-01-13T13:25:00.000Z

With the start of the new year, I started to work out. Usually I only think about it, but these last two weeks I have actually gotten into a nice routine. My goal this week and last was to work out. I feel happy that I have accomplished me goal. I worked out a total of 5 times this week, in four days. And last week I worked out 4 times as well. It has been keeping me and Logan busy. There are a couple of classes I have tried and liked, and some I will not go back to again. One I will not go back to will be the Zumba class, which is so sad. I really love Zumba, but the class was not what I thought it would be. Everything seemed very slow, and though, yes I did feel like I worked out, I did not end up leaving the class tired. The nice thing was that I did not have to pay for the class since it was my first time doing it.

Last week Logan started tumbling class which he loves. They do the same stuff each week, but he really is enjoying himself. Other than that things has slowed down a bit, and we don't mind it one bit. Looking forward to a long weekend, nice that the hubby has Monday off. Lets see what we can get ourselves into.

The weather lately has been nice. We have had some sunny days, and it is warmer than usual. Everyone is saying it is a mild winter. I am just glad we are still getting ourselves out of the house.

Happy Christmas

2012-01-04T18:40:00.001Z

Santa was up late wrapping gifts. Mrs. Clause went to bed early. I just love the Santa bag I got for Logan this year. How cute is that. The idea is that we will have some of the toys not wrapped and just put in the bag, and ready to play with. This year the bag contained the Little People car ramp that is as tall as Logan. We really liked it, but his favorite this year was the wooden train set.

Logan really got into unwrapping presents!Love how many times he says, "oh, wow!"

Logan and daddy on ANOTHER train ride. This kid just loves them, and well there were many at the German Christmas Markets.

The hubby was really surprised this year with what Santa brought him. His big gift this year, an ipad 2.
My big gift this year, my ticket/ and accommodation to Dublin, Ireland for a girls trip in March. And I also got a couple of spa certificates to a spa in Baden Baden, Germany. I am eager to go and have a nice spa day.

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-31T23:39:00.000Z

Hope you have a wonderful New Year! We look forward to all the things that 2012 will bring. Its like the 4th of July on CRACK around here, and we are loving it. From all our windows we see fireworks going off. May we all be blessed in all that lies ahead for each and every one of us.

Merry Christmas, Fröhliche Weihnachten!

2011-12-24T09:37:00.001Z

Fröhliche Weihnachten is something I learned to say while I waited at der post, the post office. It is how they say Merry Christmas here in Germany! It will not be a white Christmas. The snow we got earlier this week melted. From our family to yours we hope you have a wonderful, happy, and joyous time with family, friends, and loved ones!

May God Bless you!
The Bowerbanks

Snow Day!

2011-12-20T16:59:00.000Z

The last couple of days we have had snow in varying amounts. Logan has been enjoying the snow. Looking and pointing and say snnooo, but it sounds more like no. He does not like keeping his gloves on a prefers to just squish it all, well that was until today.

It started of Saturday when we awoke to a light dusting of snow.

Then on the way to Church on Sunday we had a bit more, but it didn't really stick.

Followed by a bit more on Monday.

Then today, we had several inches fall though out the day. The hubby got home very early for work, and helped shovel the snow.

He then proceeded to show Logan how to build and throw a snowball.

Logan was delighted to learn this (as the grin above proves), and now not only do I have the hubby trying to get me with a snowball but my little guy too!

After they played out for a while, they came inside (I hid like a coward inside the house to avoid getting hit by snowballs) I made so yummy hot cocoa. We expect more snow tomorrow, but am hoping we will make a snowman tonight. Hope everyone is staying nice and warm! We are trying.

Tis the season

2011-12-14T14:25:00.000Z

Christmas time is here. Now multiply that buy 2 and you have Christmas time here in Germany. This has definitely surpassed my expectations, and I am loving it. One cannot get enough of the Christmas markets, well maybe one husband might (mine). It is one of my favorite times of the year. People seem to have more cheer, and are much friendlier. Things we have done so far.

We have put up our Christmas Tree.
Gone to see the lighting of a Christmas Tree on base.
Many train rides for Logan.
Enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate.
Snuggled with those I love.
Enjoyed face time with Santa.(For Logan)
Made some sugar cookies, and decorated them.
Wrapped presents.
Missed family.
Had a Christmas Tacky Sweater Party.
A musical chocolate Advent calendar that Logan LOVES.(half way through)
Christmas Markets.
Started my 12 days of Christ Christmas countdown.
Made traditional tamales, bunelos, and Mexican hot chocolate (once so far).
Watch many cheesy Christmas Lifetime movies. ( The hubby just walks out of the room.)
Made many wonderful treats. Thanks pinterest.

We are so enjoying having fun and enjoying this wonderful season here in Germany. The only thing better would be to have our families here.

THanksgiving!

2011-12-11T09:26:00.001Z

The day after we got home from American, the hubby's older brother arrived for a visit. He was flying back home from a business trip and decided to stay with us. It was nice to have our first house guest. As you can expect, after a long journey, my house was not as tidy as I would of liked. We were all jet lagged. So it made for an interesting morning. Jeff had been in India, so he was off as well.

We had some friends over for Thanksgiving, and one of the hubs co workers. There was so much food. Sorry no pictures, totally forgot. But this was the first year that we have ever had any family. It made me happy to have Jeff here.

The days that followed we showed Jeff around town. It was a bit cold, and well having just been in Texas for a while, it made it feel even colder.

The boys eating some Bratwursts and shopping at Stuttgart Christmas Market!

The hubby and Loggie walking down some stairs! There was so much frost on the ground.

I stayed away with Loggie for this, but the boys went to the Mercedes museum.

Boys will be boys, with cars.

On Saturday we headed to Heidelberg to see the castle. Total epic fail on that one. We got there late, Loggie was hungry so we had to eat something (Cuban food), and got lost among the Christmas market stalls. Before we new it, it was too late to go up to the castle. Maybe next time.

This was soo neat! It was very festive, and a great way to start off the holiday season. The Christmas markets here are just very amazing!

I Never Met a Chocolate I didn't Like.

2011-11-30T12:57:00.001Z

The 12-step chocoholics program:
Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!
- Terry Moore

I am so happy to be back in Germany! Especially since there is a chocolate festival going on in a town not far. It goes on for a whole week too. This is not the best way to start the holiday calorie count, but I guess I will just look the other way until this is over. What is better than a Christmas Market and a Chocolate festival all in the same place?! Look out bank account, I might just do a bit too much damage if I am not careful. This will be a good family outing with my hubby keeping an eye out on what I am spending. The link here shows some great pictures, as well, as mouth watering treats. I am so excited!!!

chocolART - The Festival

Germany's largest chocolate festival in Tübingen chocolART goes from 29.11. - 12.04.2011 in the sixth Round!

Africa, South and North America, Europe - 100 top international chocolatiers travel to 2011 to the cocoa bean against the picturesque backdrop of the Tübingen town to pay homage.
The more than 200 000 lovers of the particular will be grateful: it offers an array of such delicious range of melt-in confections, and handmade fine chocolates.

To Texas and then Across the Atlantic again.

2011-11-29T09:02:00.001Z

UGH! I cant believe that November is just about done. Where did fall go? I spent most of November in Texas. We left Cali on a very early flight the 4th of Nov. My poor mother in law drove Logan and I to the San Fran airport, we had to be there by 5 am. Yes that is right 5 AM! So grateful for all she and my father in law did for us while we stayed there. Once in Texas we just hung out and enjoyed some time with my family and friends. My mom took Logan after work a couple of times so that I could get some Me time. I was able to finish a book that I wanted and hung out with friends. It was so nice to catch up with great friends.

After about 10 days, I drove down to where I grew up. It had been more the 7 yrs since I had been down there. The main reason being that it is 5-6 hr car ride. At least I had my little brother Len with me to help me with the drive and with Logan. I seriously could not have done this trip without my brother. Not only was he helping me but he had to put up with all my moods (By this part of my trip I was tired, missing my husband, anxious, stressed, sick, etc.). I am so thankful for him. My childhood bff Laura was getting married and I was the matron of honor. There was much to do, and many things seemed to get in the way of me doing some things I wanted to do. I got to see my Grandpa and Grandma. Funny story: My grandparents are divorced, but very competitive with each other. Logan is their first Great grand baby. Well my grandpa wanted to take pictures with him, which we did. My grandmother found out and she just needed to do the same. When she got her pictures, she was like, "Logan and I look better than Logan and your grandpa. So much better!" Fun times. The best part of this, Logan now has professional pictures with his great grandparents.

Part of being the MOH was to throw a party. So I went with a Last Fling theme: Twilight Saga "Bitten by LOVE". Just some appetizers and cocktails, thought I left that part to the bride since I don't drink. I did have my bottle of Martinelli's Apple Cider to join in on the games and fun. We ended the night with the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn. The wedding was fun, I was actually also asked to talk in front of everyone. It was my first time taking part of a Catholic wedding. They looked so happy, and tears were shed for my dear friend. After the wedding we drove back very early the following morning, by early I am talking about 330am. We got back to H town by 930 am. We drove to my mom's house which was filled with my cousins and aunts. (why?) Well my cousin Kim had gotten married! Well tired to anyway. She was late to her own wedding, so late, that the judge left. Everyone was late. In a way I am kinda glad I had to be at my friends wedding, rather than Kim's. I don't think I could of taken all the disorder and tardiness that happened. It was nice to see my aunt Martha, and sad I missed seeing my Aunt Julissa.

The best part of my trip! We left H town and boarded a plane THE STU! I was so happy knowing that I would be home soon, and this very long journey was at its end. I was ready to see my hubby, and Logan was ready to see his daddy, and play with his toys. We had just one stop in Newark, a short layover. Well to my great surprise, but who would you think was there to meet us! My dear, sweet husband. Logan was running ahead of me out of the airport, and ran right into his arms. At first, I wanted to tell this man to put my child down, until I realized it was him! I was so happy that I started to cry. My little family was together again, and sooner than expected. He was here to help make my trip across the Atlantic easy. And easy it was. Watched movies, relaxed, and slept. Once we landed we took a cab, and we made it home.

I don't think I could make a trip alone that long again. Glad to be back home.

Where did October Go?

2011-11-04T04:37:00.000Z

October just flew by. We stayed busy and did much traveling. Loggie and I took a flight from Houston to San Francisco, only to jump on to another flight 2 days later bound for Seattle. It was nice having my in laws help out with Loggie on that flight. We stayed with my sudo brother 15 minutes away from downtown Seattle. It was a nice area, with views to the lake. Logan loved hanging out with uncle clay.

Loggie with his Grandpa hanging out at the hotel. Just being spoiled and enjoying all the attention.

My hubby arrived a day later! I was excited to see him, it had been 10 since I had left home. It was nice to have him around and well Loggie just missed his daddy! We walked around Pikes Place! So much fun.

The main reason for our trip to Seattle was for my sister in law wedding. It was a perfect day, with no rain. Loggie had fun being pulled in a wagon as part of the wedding.

This is Loggie and his cousin right before they made their appearance. Such cuties!

Just loved Amanda's dress. The wedding was nice!

My family! WE had fun.

Loggie had so much fun, and danced the night away. Though that was nothing compared to the moves his little cousin had. She was the dancing queen. Just so cute to see them interact.

Loggie had all the bridesmaid loving on him. He was such a big flirt.

We hung out with family. My hubby and his brother. After a week in Seattle we flew back to Cali, this time with hubby in tow.

We did some sight seeing after we came back to Cali. With the hubby here we headed to Sacramento. I had never been so it was a nice trip. While there we went to the Railroad museum. Loggie had so much fun as he is into trains right now. He just kept saying Choo Choo.

With the hubby back in Germany, Loggie and I spent some quality time with his grandma. We went to a pumpkin patch, where Lo got to feed animals, pet goats, run around, and just have fun.

This is my favorite fall pic of Lo this year. What do you think? Isn't he handsome.

So after spending the day at the pumpkin patch we headed home and got ready for our big race. It was fun and exciting. My mother in law is into doing 5k's and she signed us up to do a fun run with her. I thought it would be fun just to jog a bit and enjoy the evening but once they honked the horn the inner runner in me took off too. Now let me be very honest, I have not run in over 5 yrs, run. I ran the whole thing, only because I kept seeing my mother in law in front of me. Yes, she did beat me, but I only came in some seconds behind her. I thought I was going to DIE! My favorite quote of that night, "Come on MOM (fans cheering at me) your son is beating you!" Loggie was in a non jogging stroller, pushed by me.

There was a Trunk or Treat at our church, along with a Chili Cookoff that I help coordinate. So that kept me pretty busy as well.

There was a costume parade in my mother in laws town, at it was a bit hot for Loggie to be a monkey, so I dressed him up as a tourist. Too bad I forgot to give him his camera for the picture.

Then on Halloween we went to a shopping area for trick o treating. Loggie finally got the hang of it. So that was neat. He didn't want to be handed a candy, the boy wanted to choose. Later that evening we walked around the neighborhood with his grandma. He kept trying to go into peoples home. But on a positive note, he did not get scared, even when we went up to the scary homes.

When September Ends!

2011-11-01T21:48:00.001Z

Oh my, I cant believe I have neglected my blog this long. We have been doing some serious traveling and thus it leaves little time to update. But before I fly on to my next destination I thought I would do a little updating.

The weekend before we flew to America, the hubby, baby Lo and I headed to Ludwigsburg to their annual pumpkin patch. This year the theme was Dinosaurs. How cool is that! I was amazed at the talent and hard work they put into their displays. Logan enjoyed running around, and discovering new things. It was a bit drizzly, but nothing heavy. We had fun!

I love that both Lo and the hubby are giving me the same look, like another picture!

I think that this was my favorite of all! I mean look at it, and it was huge!

The last week of Sept, baby Lo and I headed back to the states. On our way to California, we totally surprised my mother on her birthday! All the siblings were in on it so it was so much fun to see her happy and may I add, VERY SURPRISED! What fun! The flight not so much, but totally worth it. He had had it the last two hours, and cried most of them. People were getting annoyed and I let them know we had flown from Germany, changed flights in NY, and then they gave me the sympathy look, and helped out in trying to entertain my little tot a bit more.

My little bro JOE caught the moment we walked in on camera. She totally did a double take, as she couldn't believe it was really us! Yeah, she was about to cry when my brother cut off the video!

On Holiday to England

2011-09-07T12:11:00.002+01:00

We headed to England for a long weekend. A dear friend of ours was getting married, and it was the perfect excuse to go to England. We are so happy that we went. There is nothing like a good wedding. We arrived late on Thursday evening, and stayed with our friends, the Jacksons.(It was sad that they were not all home.)

Here is the couple cutting the cake.

Some friends from Oxfordshire, at the cupcake reception.

Logan having some fun with ballons!

The groom with Logan!

Lo and Daddy walking down the streets in Oxford.

It was such a short trip, but it only being an hour flight, I suspect that we will be making more trips in the near future, or at least I will. We left oxfordshire Saturday afternoon, and head south to Brighton! I had been wanting to visit here when we were living in England a year ago, but we never made it. We stayed with our good friends the Hermans! We had great food, and played games into the wee hours of the night. On Sunday, we walked around town, the pier, and ate freshly cooked doughnuts. Yumm. We, of course, had some rain, that stranded us at a coffee shop. So many places to shop, I will return with an empty suitcase to fill.

On the beach just two blocks of where we stayed. What fun.

Lo and Mike playing with rocks, trying to skip them. Lo loved the beach, even though it was a rocky beach.

Lo just chilling on the beach. Loved playing with the rocks.

Neha and I decided to have a go on these balls. The goal I guess was to walk on them in the water. It did not happen. I face planted in the water a couple of time, and flipped, and splat, and layed there for a bit. So much fun.

Lo and Jonas posing for a picture.

We had such a wonderful time. It just seemed like such a short trip. I really could live in England forever. It was sad leaving, and I eagerly look forward to another trip. Maybe sometime next spring! After all, I think it is important that Logan gets to know the place he was born! ;)

Fading Summer

2011-08-31T18:46:00.000+01:00

The summer is gone. How fast was that! We are heading into September, and already there are hints of fall in the air. Some leaves on trees are starting to change. I love the feel of change that is around me. I just love Fall, but will miss the warmth of the sun.

We were able to see the Sesame Street show on base. It was free for everyone, and Lo really enjoyed it. His attention span is not very long, so after about 10 of dancing he got tired and tried to run off. Apperently it is something they do every year, so hopefully next year he will be a bit more interested.

We got there early so we were sitting right up front, and he got to shake hands with cookie monster, and touched a couple of others.

We really enjoyed Pool Group this summer, and going to the different pools. Lo loves the water, and would get excited when he would see me getting the pool bag ready. It was nice having our friends the Dahl's join us a couple of times. With a couple of days with the heat up in the 90's, and no AC in the house, the pool was nice.

16 wonderful months

2011-08-19T09:27:00.000+01:00

Lo is 16 months old.

I am in awe with his ability to communicate. Each day he does something new, and is expressing his likes and dislikes. we have had a couple of meltdowns, and as much as i want to give in i understand it is best that i don't. he is big for his age, which makes both daddy and i smile. we hope it will contiune, but have a feeling it will not last. afterall both dad and i are not the tallest. there is hope on my side of the family, i do have uncles and silbings that are tall. we will see. but for now we delight in the fact that he is tall for his age.

Lo is an explorer, and has no fear. which we know is good and bad. he loves people, and is not afraid to approach anyone to try and get what he wants. he knows that Giving people a big smile will sometimes result in candy, pretzels, apples, and other free stuff. he knows dad is a softie, but so is mama sometimes. trains, cars, balls, and phones are some of his favorite things to play with. this summer we have been going to the pool and he loves playing in the water. yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, strawberries, peaches, grapes, string cheese, beans, mac and cheese, and grilled cheese are some of his favorite food at this time. Animals bright a big cheesy grin on his face. we are enjoying every minute with this little guy. he is a handful, but is loveable, kissable, adorable and makes me happy. Now i am looking forward to going back to the town lo was born, we will be there in a couple of weeks for the weekend. so manny sweet memories there.

In the Stu

2011-08-06T09:26:00.000+01:00

On a very warm Saturday in the Stu (stuttgart) we headed to the city centre. There was some festival that I kept hearing about on the radio, so I had to see what it was about. Once we got there to my happy surprise it was a fish festival. All the vendors had all types of yummy food to eat, and diffenent kinds of fish. I stayed with something easy to recognize, salmon.

The guys on the top of the tower ehm, light house were frying the fish and they would ring the bell to let the workers below that fish were ready and sliding down. Yes, that is correct, sliding, as there was a slide that from the top to the bottom that they tossed the fish in.

Usually this is a market on Saturday mornings. It was nice to see this giant boat in the middle of the square.

After eating some food, we walked around the city centre and quickly found these guys. Can you guess what they were doing? Parkour. I asked Mike to try, and he just smiled at me and walked away.

It was a hot day, well, hot for the Stu, it was 85 so we needed to cool off, and we dipped our feet into the fountain.

It was fun to see all the kids, just jump in and cool down. It always shocks me when there are a couple of naked ones running around, but it is more common than I thought, especially on very hot days.

Quintessential Germany

2011-08-01T20:22:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at some pictures a friend posted on facebook. They were of a beautiful castle nestled away in some mountains. It just looked like a wonderful place. I had of course seen the picture of the castle in some German posters, books, and other tourist stuff. When I asked him where the picture was taken he replied, " You guys! This is quintessential Germany! You must go to it ASAP before you continue to tell people you live here. " So the following weekend we head to the southern Baravia to visit Neuschwanstein Castle! It is tucked away in the Alps, and I am in love with this place.

In between the hill, there is a bridge that tourist like myself go to, in order to take the picture that follows. I took one quick photo, a rushed off the bridge. Just thinking of it makes my stomach drop.

Isn't it gorgeous. They call it Cinderella's castle, for they say it inspired Disney.

Another castle, that we did not pay to see was Hohenschwangau castle, in the town of Hohenschwangau where we parked and the only place to get tickets to see Neuschwanstein.

We had such a wonderful time. It got cool in the afternoon, but then again we were in the Alps. I am dying to go back to that area and see more. Garmish I hear is wonderful, and at Edelweiss Lodge and Resort you can camp under the stars, get a rustic lodge cabin, or get a room with a view.

We stopped in the Hopfen am See on the way home, not directly on our path, but we were craving pizza. Greatest spot to eat some pizza. If you are going to Neuschwanstein, I highly recommend Rivera Resturant. They have more than just pizza. The setting is amazing, with views of Lake Hopfensee which is right across the street. Oh, and the prices were great too. Here is a link to Riviera.

Sommer Fest

2011-07-22T21:27:00.000+01:00

The best part of summer, here in Germany has been all the festivals that have been going on in the city and around the small towns and villages. It seems that each town has their own festival. They go all out, and have tons of food, activities for the kids, and music.

Lo just wanted to keep going round and round.

Part of the festival was on fire awareness. It was fun to see them put out fire, and carry heavy stones, and heavy people.

This is the village centre where they hold a farmers market twice a week. One of my favorite things to do! Everything is so organic and fresh. It took me a while to get used to going there. My biggest fear, not being able to communicate with them. I am slowly learning the language, and have a couple of words down, but still have a long way to go.

Right across the village city hall, there is a small playground that Lo loves to play at. We go there once a week after I have bought our weekly fruits and veggies. Did I mention that this is all two blocks from our home! I am enjoying living here so far.

Isn't this fire truck really neat?

Summer Travel

2011-07-20T13:04:00.001+01:00

At the start of July we decided to head south to Lake Konstanz. The drvie was nice only 2 hours away, but once we got there it was nice to walk around the town of Lindau. Lake Konstanz borders Germany, Austria, ans Switzerland.

We thought of taking a paddle boat out to the lake, but then thought Logan might just try to jump out of the boat and play in the water.

There were many stores to do a little shopping.

The view toward Austria.

Found a nice big playground for us to have a nice picnic.

This is the cities landmark photo on some of the travel books.

My two favorites~!

You can see the Alps a bit. It was just a wonderful day, had we remembered our passports we would of driven closer to get a better look.

While we were leaving the city, we came across this. Tangled anyone!

We drove along the German lakeside and took a ferry to the town of Constance, only to find out that we could have driven around. The hubby was not happy, since he had purchased a roundtrip ticket, and we ended not using the return portion of it.

Fun in the Sun

2011-07-15T07:16:00.001+01:00

July is here, and we have had some very sunny and warm days. Nothing like the heat wave DC has had, but when there is no AC in the house (most houses in Germany dont have AC in the homes) we have to find ways to cool down. Our house does a great job of keeping the hot air out, for the most part. I find it amazing that we really dont need AC. I do think, however, that I will invest in a couple of fans, as I still dont feel fully comfortable opening our windows at night (without screens) to let the cool air in (along with bugs).

Nothing like a little ice pop to cool this little man down.

Enjoying an apple before cooling down in the pool!

Lo's little American Havanas. Flip flops a must for the summer heat.

The pools here that we have been to, have been great! They have some wonderful kiddy pools which Lo really enjoys.

Splashing in the water. Lo fell a couple of times, but he kept his head above water. He did want to swallow water, from the frog fountain.

An American holiday abroad.

2011-07-10T20:02:00.002+01:00

Last year my little family was not together for the 4th of July. Mike was in England, and I had made the 11 hour flight across the Atlantic to Cali with little Lo the day before. Who would of guessed that a year later, we would not be in America any longer. This was offically my first 4th of July where I was not in America, but it sure did not feel that way.

As soon as we drove on to the base, American flags were lined up along the roads. It made me proud to be an America, and to know that I would be surrounded by so many troops, and people in service. To know that because of them and their willingness to serve, and others like them who came before, we have our freedom.

We went on base late in the afternoon. For Mike, we could of left our home 3 hours later. In all honesty, I agree with him, now. Oh well, now I know. They had train rides, pony rides, games, face painting, moon jump, watermelon eating contest, music, live bands and various booths. We picked a spot, left our blanket along with our stroller, and walked around for a while.

After a walk around we settled on some food to eat, sat down and enjoyed, that is until Lo started running off and charming all sorts of people. He loves dogs, and with many of them around that evening he had much fun.

At just about any festival I have been here, there is a candy booth and among the things they sell are chocolate cover fruit. My favorite is the strawberries. Yum.

Lo fell asleep for about 1 hour before the fireworks started. We, well I woke him 3 minutes before the show began. He enjoyed seeing them, and did not fear the loud bang.

Bienvenidos A Casa Bowerbank

2011-07-07T10:44:00.002+01:00

I have been meaning to post pictures for a while, but when I felt up to it, I needed to clean. The house is nowhere near being done. Drapes are still being ordered, pictures need to be hung, ect. There are two rooms I did not post pictures of, because they are a work in progress (there is junk in those rooms). The two large guest bedrooms.

The summer is here, and Lo loves going outside and run around.

We have a covered area in our patio, there are heated lights for the colder nights to keep us nice and toasty. I have big plans for this area. A bight outdoor rug, pillows, lanterns, poms. You see the grass growing by the bush. I planted it. There was just weeds, and the bush was over grown. We have been eating outdoors all week long, the weather has been perfect. Low 80's, and a light breeze.

A view of our backyard from the master bedroom.

Our dining room. I have my eye on a gorgeous new dining table. In LOVE with it, but will have to wait.

Both the dining room, and living room have this beautiful deatil in the crown molding. This is what I fell in love with this house.

Our living room. The curtains, will go in Lo's room, once we have our new drapes. But for now, they are fun, and add color to the room.

Mikes new TV!

The foyer.

The stair heading to the second floor, that lead directly to our bathroom.

The landing on the the second floor. The owners left their piano, which

they dont mind Logan banging on it. (Maybe I will finally take some lessons.)

Above and below, pics from Lo's room.

The master bed room. Still needs much work, but we have the basics.

The stairs that lead to Mike's man cave.

Oh, I guess I left out the kitchen. Oh well, another time.

Rothenburg ob de Tauber

2011-06-30T11:29:00.003+01:00

It has been a while since I have done any updating. We have been very busy with unpacking boxes and settling into our new home. I will do an update with pictures of the house soon. There are still things we need to get, and some of it will take a while, like my new dining table, which is far down the list right now, as we do not NEED one.

We are really enjoying ourselves and are trying to take advantage of the summer and great weather to visit places. A while back we went to the town of Rothenburg ob de Tauber. The weather was perfect. The town is surrounded by a wall build in the Middle Ages, and there are many gates throught the city. It is one of the stops on Germany's Romatic Road. One of my goals while we are here, is to go to every town listed on the Romantic Road.

Mike and Logan sitting on the wall with the town behind them. Logan had a load of fun running around and flirting with a group a Japanese ladies. They were loving his dimples, and giving him sweets.

Many bakeries sell these round balls, called Schneeballen. They are coated with surgar, powdered sugarn, chocolate, cinnamon surgar. I was told they are only sold in this city, and have been around for 222 years. So far, it has been the only place I have seen them. So NATURALLY I had to buy some and see what the fuss was all about. They remind me of a funnel cake, except in the form of a ball, and dipped in choclate. Very fragil, but delicious.

Logan and Mike hung around the city while I went and did a little shopping and went into their well-known Christmas store. Wow! The store was GRAND. It could take a person 2 days, to see everything in there. Things are pricey, it seems, since the euro is stronger than the dollar. I ~~want~~ will be going back before Christmas rolls around. I hear they have a great Christmas Market as well, although, I hear that about many towns around here. I guess I will have to wait and see.

We had so much fun, and just had a wonderful Saturday. So far my second favorite town after Heidelburg. I know I will come here often, it is a place I plan on showing guests that come and visit.

Brusies, Bumps, and Boxes!

2011-06-05T15:29:00.001+01:00

We are slowly getting settled into our new place. The movers arrived late Wednesday, and things were unloaded, beds were made, and then they left. The following day I started to unpack. Boxes upon boxes, that seemed never ending. First things first, the kitchen. It took over a day, but my kitchen is unpacked and 90% organized. Lets be honest, half of all the boxes ended up in the kitchen so with that done, I was halfway through.

The rest of the stuff was more tedious than I would of liked. Having to find new places or spaces for some stuff was slowing down the process. As of now we only have 10 boxes to go! We have realized that we must buy more things to fill this house! The hubby not as thrilled as I am. First thing on our list new couch and loveseat, oh and of course, a new television. Our old one works okay here, but we will not be able to get cable. So a new one it is. The old tele will go in the hubbys man cave. He is so excited that he will have a man cave.

Lo is enjoying our new home! He has so much space to run around, he just can't seem to slow down. After 2 months of living in hotels, he must love all these rooms! He fell down the stairs the other day, and had some brusies. Poor little guy, I think I cried more than he did. Later that evening we pampered him, and spoiled him a bit. But Lo did not learn, he climed up the stairs again and wanted to walk down the stairs like mummy and daddy, without holding on to the side, or crawling back down. We are trying to teach him, though he already knows. We've invested in some gates, to help contain him to certain levels of the home.

So what house did they pick?

2011-05-16T08:31:00.001+01:00

We went with house 1!

The sliding door between the dining room and the living room. I have not been able to decide which one would be the dining room, and which would be the living room. The landlord would preferre I not paint these two rooms. I have been looking for ideas at pinterest.com. .

The table is not ours, I picture a island right there.Nothing too big. This kitchen is a jolly good size.

It was the first house I saw, and I couldn't get it out of my head. It felt like home when we walked in. It does have some quirks, but not many. We have a house, and we move in June first. We are excited to move out of the hotel. I have already started picturing where some things will go. Speaking of which, our shipment has arrived, two weeks earlier than expected. This was exciting news, it means we will not have the need to borrow furniture. They will loan us an American size fridge, washer, and dryer until we leave!

One of the main things that his house does not come with are closets. It is unusal, so I plan on heading to Ikea to see what they have. We were able to talk our landlord into getting all our light fixtures, put I get to pick them out. We will also need to do some furniture shopping, so I looking forward to that.

Mothers Day Weekend

2011-05-10T11:27:00.001+01:00

We had a wonderful Saturday. We head south to the Black Forrest for a lovely afternoon. We arrived around noon so we grabbed a bite to eat before we took a nice steep hike. (Now I will admitt to how out of shape I am.) There was a sign posted that said it was a 15 minute hike. We started off.

There were many of these up hill steep paths. The first 400 yards I was holding Logan, and I ended up dragging myself up the path. No buns of steel here. I was huffin' and puffin'. Mike was just laughing, so he took over and held Logan as we continued our hike.

The path was not enough, they had to put hundreds upon hundred of stairs. Yay. Mike and Logan enjoying my struggle up the stairs. I was feeling the burn. And after 20 minutes, maybe more we finally reached the top.

This was at the top of our hike. You could see this castle on top of the hill for miles. It was beautiful. Once up there we walked around the castle. You could pay to go in, but we have learned that with Lo, tours are not always the best. We just payed for the grounds. It is better to be able to do our thing. We were glad we did that. I accidently put too much sunscreen on Lo's face, and he rubbed it into his eyes. Poor little lad had a bad reaction to it. We ended up leaving much soon that we had expected.

Sunday was Mothers Day.

We slept in(until Lo started hitting our faces trying to wake us up). Breakfast in bed, thanks to room service. We skipped church, and headed off to Heidelburg. Let me just begin by saying this town has won my heart. So maybe there are some perks to living in Germany. I already want to plan a trip back! We had a wonderfu lunch in the Old Town Square. The weather was perfect. Sunny with a nice warm breeze. We sat outdoors and enjoyed the views of the cobble stones, old charming fountain, cathedral, shops and shops. There were some musicians playing music for tips. Just lovely.

We were on a bridge looking at the castle. We did not go up to the castle this time. Just took a lovely stroll around the charming city.

Lo and Daddy! They were having fun too. By the way have you noticed we cut Lo's hair.

All the streets were small with lovely views up the hill. LOVE it!

You can see the cathedral in the back. Yes Germany is very slowly starting to win me over.

Street after street with charming shops, chocolate stores, pubs, and resturants.

We let Lo run around in this fountain. Took of his trousers, and socks, and let him go at it. The weather was just perfect for this. He took a nap right after he finished playing!

My boys treated me to a wonderful Mother's Day! I felt so pampered and loved!

Oh and once we have signed our contract I will post which house we will be living in!

House Hunters International

2011-05-05T10:51:00.003+01:00

Have you ever watched the show House Hunters International? I am a big fan, and I feel as if I am watching my own show. Our number one priority since our arrival here in Germany has been to find a home. Over all we were searching in surrounding areas close to the hubby's job. He wanted to keep commute time under 30 minutes, and have the option of public transportation until we get a second car! We have viewed several, and we have made a decision. The recap:

House 1: Nestled in the small village of L, this detached home has a large yard, huge fitted kitchen, large pantry, 5 bedrooms and many other perks. Walking distance to a playground for the little one and just a short walk to the light rail.

House 2: Located in the charming village of N, this house has all the room they need with a more modern approch. Just blocks from public transportation, shops, cafe, and more. The fitted kitchen features a coveted gas stove modern and updated appliances.

House 3: A beautiful half-timbered house small garden, high-quality furnishings with parquet flooring and under floor heating, fitted kitchen located in village F. Just steps to the chaming village city center where you can shop, eat, and play.

So which one did this family of 3 choose? Stay tuned to find out! What is your guess?

ONE

2011-04-18T10:10:00.002+01:00

Feliz Cumpleanos mi Lindo Bebe!
It amazes me how quickly this first year flew by! The Lord has blessed us with this tiny soul, full of life. He is talking away saying who knows what, and giving me one of those melt-your-heart smiles.

Isn't the change, and rate of growth in the first year brilliant! There was no way I could of envisioned how my son would look after those first couple of days! He has us wrapped around his little finger, some more than others.

Logans top 10:

10. Has been to Yellowstone, Windsor Castle, Bath, Shenandoah National Park, Colonial Williamsburg, among others.
9. Is the new face for Jones Soda, Cream flavor!

8. Grandma Bowerbank and Aunt Amanda come for a visit!

7. Went on a curise to the Bahamas with the Johnsen's!

6. Had so much fun in Texas meeting his Grandma, Aunt and Uncles!

5. Great Grandpa Garcia, and Great Aunt Nancy come for a visit in DC, Met Great Grandma Gracia before heading off on a curise.

4. Has been to a NBA game, and Pro Soccer game!
3. Has made 2 international trips, and 6 flights in America where we have visited family and friends.

2. Has lived in 3 countries (born in England, lived in America for 7 months, moved to Germany)!

1. Was able to have a great 1st birthday party before the move, and has the best parents in the world!

As he licks the keys whiles I am trying to type, this boy as changed my world up side down. I cannot image a life without him! He is walking 70 % of the time, and can say "Ma Ma", "Da Da", "Hi", "bye", "ba ba", "two". This boy LOVES cars and says vroom vroom when he plays with them. One of his favorite shows was the Sunny Side Up show, but now we watch Rory the racing car.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN, WE LOVE YOU!

We have Sleep!

2011-04-14T07:51:00.003+01:00

The Joy of Sweet Success!

It seems like Lo is adjusting. Slept through the night with only one wake up at 5am asking for a bottle. He had it and fell right back to sleep. We all slept in this morning, and Lo is still sleeping. This is a positive start to this new day! Yesterday was a tough one, it only made me long for home. But we will not talk about that, I will focus on today! The sun is shining as look out the window! I feel rested! Yes this will be a great day. I plan on meeting a friend today. That is right I have a friend here already. She too will help make this day exciting, and fun. Oh and I will try and remember to bring my camera along to snap some great pictures. I finally feel like the city of Stuttgart wants me here, let's see if I like what I see.

Jet Lag in Stuttgart

2011-04-12T14:15:00.004+01:00

I am told the first month is the hardest! My cute, happy, little one, is no longer. He is having the hardest time going down at night. The last two night I put him down at around 9 pm, but wakes up 45 min later, and won't go down until 1 am. So far I have not ventured out much. Our hotel here is already bigger than our flat in Oxford, so that is a promising start. Yesterday evening we went for an afternoon stroll in search of a small local store. The weather was in the 70's, and the sun felt great on us. In a way I felt I was back in England. (I do miss it dearly.) Other than the people driving on the oppoiste side, and things being in German. The road was charming, with many little shops along the way. The tele has a very limited selection of English speaking channels. In my hope of trying to understand the language here I watched Gilmore Girls. I could count the number of words I knew on one hand. I think I will continue with it, when I have time, the show starts in the middle of Logan's nap. Other than that, I am enjoying watching BBC again. Today I had the hope of trying to head to the city center but with rain in the forcast, I decided against it. It a good 15 degrees or more cooler today than yesterday. I will stick to the block around the hotel, maybe go back to the small store we found yesterday evening, now that I have some euro's on me. I keep thinking to myself "WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING IN GERMANY!" I am sure great adventures will follow after all we are only a couple of hours away from Austria, Swizerland, Italy, Belgum, France, and others. Auf Wiedersehen Goodbye

A Short Getaway!

2011-04-05T02:46:00.003+01:00

-Utah We took a flight to see family and friends. This was a first for me. It was nice to see the sights, and enjoy the company of family! There was nothing that I really wanted to do but hang out! We hit the regular joints, In and Out, Cafe Rio. We stayed with Mike's brother Chris and his wonderful family in Lehi. We also saw much of Mike's oldest brother Rob and his wonderful family! It made me crave having family close by! It was fun to get to know my nieces and nephews better. The mountains were beautiful, and we took a day trip to Park City! LOVED IT!

We took a quick tour of the Olympic Park in Park City.

Logan enjoying some of the great snow that is found in Utah! (It snowed twice while there, in mid March).

We walked around Temple Square in Salt Lake, before heading over to Mike's aunt house for some light lunch!

Logan was SPOILED by his cousins and Aunt's and Uncles! He was LOVING life! He had so much fun. (I don't have any pictures of Rob's family in my camera :( )

While in Utah, we went to Heber City for an overnight trip to visit Mike's BFF, Dave. It was nice to get to know his family, and Logan played well with his girls! I was able to finally meet my good friend David's son Max! That was a fun visit!

An Early Birthday

2011-03-28T00:58:00.009+01:00

LOGAN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Yesterday we celebrated Logan's first birthday. His real birthday is not until April 18th, but since we are moving this past weekend worked the best. We had his party at a soft play area, and then had cake and snacks after. All in all, it turned out great! Let me say it took so much work, who knew. I am glad that we were able to do this before the big move. It was nice seeing all the little ones he has had playdates/grown up with. It will be hard leaving them all behind. We look forward to making new friends, and reconnecting with old ons while in Stuttgart. The countdown is now 13 days. These next couple of days will be crazy with packing and shipping our stuff, so I thought it would be best to post these before things get out of control. Thanks to everyone for your help.

Organic flavored water for the tots!

Logan diggin' into the cake.

I love my family!

Logan's monthly photo for the first year! The food table!

Personalized drinks w/Logans photo! (Thanks Auntie Amanda!)

My attempt to make a Paddington bear cake. Not the best, but it felt good knowing I had made his cake. I refused to pay $125 for a cake that he would destroy (okay let's be honest, Mike refused). The flags symoblize the places Logan has lived/will live before he is 1! I love the birthday sign, I made! Bowerbank photo!

Paddington Bear party!

Having so much fun in the play area!

It is hard to beleive that at this time a year ago, he was still not here. It is amazing how much fun, change, and growth there has been in just one year. I wonder what we will do to celebrate his real birthday.

A Year Older, A Year Wiser

2011-03-14T18:22:00.003Z

Happy Birthday MIKE!

Yesterday was Mike's 30th birthday! It was a tough one for him. We headed out to the Shenandoah's for a lovely hike, and picnic! So much fun! We came upon a deer trail, and I told Mike it was fresh. Luckily we follow the trail that was on our trail. We came upon them! There were many of them. We continued on our path, and came across more! Logan enjoyed being in the out doors. We stopped at a visitors centers, and there we came upon a skunk! It was a first for Mike seeing them in the outdoors, needless to say, we kept our distance. We did snap a couple photos of it! We came back home, and just hung around. As I got ready to make a cake for him, i hurt my nose. I was looking for something in the pantry, and a tub of frosting fell on it. I thought it was broken, but it was just pain! Oh the things that happen to me. I would post a picture, but its a bit embarrassing.

The month of March has many celebrations, this is the first. With that being said things are starting to get a bit crazy around here. Later this month we will celebrate our anniversary, a brothers, birthday, my father in laws birthday, and this year since we are moving we will celebrate Logan's first birthday this month. On top of that we will be traveling to Utah for a week. Oh and did I mention that our stuff will be packed and shipped by the end of the month! So much to do and there is not enough time. I need to get more organized with my lists! I am so grateful that we will have packers and movers!

Luck O' the Irish

2011-03-12T12:08:00.005Z

The first saturday of March in Old town Alexandria they have the St. Patrick's Day Parade. My friend Becca and I left early to get some breakfast,walk around the dog show, and do a little shopping. Becca bought a 2 dollar blanket from CVS and we laid it down on the sidewalk to save our spot! Once it got close to the start of the parade, we sat down and waited for the show to begin. While waiting we were treated to some music. I have had this song in my head all week long!

Becca and I before the start of the Parade!They had some riverdancing!

Logan was loving the parade. So nice to be outdoors without a jacket!

Logan having some fun with Auntie Becca!

Cute dog from the dog show! I want a dog!

Game Night!

2011-03-08T13:28:00.004Z

Logan's 1st NBA game!

The Golden State Warriors were in town last week. Mike being a fan, and having a good friend hook us up with these sweet tickets (3 row behind the players), how could we resist. We thought it would be fun to bring Logan! Overall it was great. Logan wanted to crawl a bit, but I did not let him. He was mesmerized by the giant screen, and loved to dance/move to the music. Not once did he cry. Regardless of how easy it was having him there, both Mike and I said that we could of enjoyed the game more without him there. He stayed up way too late, but he did sleep in!

Mike and Lo enjoying the game!

During the game, Mikes dad called him and told him that he could see us on TV every time there was a free throw. So he recorded it so that my mother in law could watch us too! I had some ice cream, and every time the players came to our side, I would put it down. I did not want to look like a pig on TV.

Having fun!

Look how excited he is! He did awesome! And though the warriors, did not win, it was a win for the home team! So for me it was a win, win situation.

Thanks Jake & Emily for the great tickets!

February is gone...

2011-03-03T14:46:00.004Z

So sad I only posted once in February! Here is a long one, to help me catch up!

The month of February proved to be busy! As our count down turns from months to weeks and eventually will be days, our days are filled with things to do! In all the chaos of getting things together for the move, it is nice to stop and enjoy the things that are happening in our town! One of the perks of living in this area has been that during the holidays they go all out! There is always something to do in not in our town then in DC! Although I will not miss the hoards of tourists that invade our city during the spring, summer, and even fall, I will miss the celebrations! Having said that, one of the things I look forward to the most is experiencing the new culture and celebrations!

Top 10 of February!

I had gone to Micheal's to look for some Valentine decorations, after going into the kitchen to make Logan a bottle I come back to find him playing with these hearts. I ended up not using them, so he got to keep them. (yes I did leave my child on the couch, but he knows how to get down on his own!)

Okay he only fell asleep holding the one in his hand, I couldn't help myself!

We had some friends over to watch the Superbowl! Logan and I were going for the Steeler's! So sad that they lost the game. It was a fun night filled with games, food, and great company! (We missed the Simmons)

My sister in law had posted a cute picture of some football chocolate covered strawberries! They do not look as good as the ones in the picture, but they were delicious! Big hit at the party. I used some of them as toppers to my cupcakes!

Logan loves baths! Needed a picture of him taking one!

This year we were lucky enough to have my friend Becca babysit for us so that Mike and I could enjoy a lovely dinner! We celebrated Valentines Day on Saturday and headed to the Chart House located at the Alexandria Waterfront! So much fun! I baked these lovely cupcakes and gave them to some friends!

On the actual day, I made our traditional Valentines Day meal! We had herb encrusted rack of lamb, par boiled fingerling potatoes, and Parmesan roasted asparagus!!

We enjoyed the Presidents Day festivities! Hooray for 3 day weekends! There was a cool parade! It was a bit cold, and there were was rain in the forecast, but we lucked out and did not get rained on!

There was a war reenactment in Fort Ward Park! Logan had so much fun, he would giggle every time there was a cannon shot!

So I walked into a fabric store out of curiosity! I found some fabric and I wanted to buy it. Then I figured I need to get thread, and needles. I realized I also needed some scissors. As the things piled on into my cart, I figured what the heck, I might as well get a sewing machine. Mike looks at me and tell me, "What are you doing? You don't even know how to sew a button!?!"

My dear friend Pamela visits DC! It had been years!

Logan has a little girl friend! Her name is Makenzie, and they are a hoot together! She can spot him across the chapel at church, and will call out to him! He let's her hold his hand! She hugs hims and likes to be close to him! He is protective of her during play groups when others are around! They are complete opposites! It is fun seeing them play together, and it will be sad when we move!

And since I had not posted it here yet our move date to Germany is April 10! I have been trying to listen to German as much as I can! While driving in the car, most days I will have this playing in the car. I do understand a little now, by little i mean little!

10.

Logan 10 months old!

Tired Thrusday!

2011-02-04T03:04:00.005Z

Happy Birthday Reynolds! (Mike, Logan, Jake, and Kenz)

This day is almost over!

As I sit here watching the tele, I am grateful that it was a Thursday of all days that I had such a day. Oh I am so tired! My house is up side down, Logan's toys are all over the living room, and I will not pick them up tonight. I will just leave them, and sit here watching Outsourced, eating a chocolate chip cookie. As for working out today, it is not going to happen. Tomorrow, I will do a double day to make up for today. Today, I will just enjoy the moment, as this soft warm cookie melts in my mouth. Oh the joy of something sweet, how I have missed thee. Shakes are my new friend, and the more creative the more I love it.

There is nothing worse than seeing Mike sick. He is hardly ever sick, I can't remember the last time he looked that bad. Well Logan getting sick is just as bad. It did give me a chance to make some homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch. Dinner we just grabbed what we could from the fridge. I was too tired!

Can I just vent and say that I am TIRED of waiting to hear back...I want to know the date we will be moving to Germany. I want to plan Lo's first birthday party before we move. It will probably end up being a month early since, well don't know where we will be. At the rate of it all, we still might be here. I want to buy tickets to visit family in Utah before we move, or California.

As much as I am not ready for change, I am. I look forward to living in a home, not a condo. I look forward to traveling, setting up a proper guest room, meeting new people, learning German, going back to England and seeing old friends.

MOM, Logan threw up on me!

2011-02-01T14:37:00.003Z

Oh the joys of motherhood, and the lows!

\ Last night right as we were getting ready for dinner Logan started to feel a little sick. As I picked him up and turned him to face me, he threw up. Poor little guy, but poor mom! I was covered in it. From my neck to my front, to my back, my jeans! I did not know he had that much in him. After a quick clean up, and dinner, he did it again. This time while his dad had him! Mike got a bit, but it was nothing compared to how much had ended up on me. The last was him getting it all over the freshly washed sheets on his crib. Oh well!

Glad that this morning he is fine. Eating good, and keeping it all down!

Just a little update on Lo:

He had his 9th month appointment 2 weeks ago! He is a little guy by all accounts.

18% on weight

25% head

46% on height

While on our cruise he had 4 top teeth coming in at once. What a nightmare, but glad that is done with. Now he has a total of 6 teeth!

He is cruising all over, pushing the walking toys, and likes to dance to music. He loves Chica from the Sunny Side Up Show. If he hears the little bird he will stop whatever he is doing and crawl toward the television. LOVES cars, and things with wheels. Loves drinking out of straws, but only the straws we use. Still has no fear, and is not showing anxiety over separation. He has started to cry a bit when Mike leaves for work in the morning!

He refuses to eat baby food! Wants to eat what we are eating. Likes green beans, corn, grilled cheese, quesadilla's, pasta, chicken...and breakfast smoothies. Loves baby yogurt.

A Victorious Week!

2011-01-31T03:49:00.003Z

This weeks has been full of accomplishments! I, Janie, has finally stepped up to the plate! I want to look good, and feel good too! There has been a small victory as I took a step in the right direction!

I was able to keep motivated, and ended up working out 6 of the last 7 days!

Now ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you its been at least, 10 years since I last worked my body like this! It had to be done. In all honesty, I was very unhappy. Yes, I know I had a baby, but in short, I needed a change of lifestyle. It has helped brighten my mood! There is a new sense of energy around me this past week. There were days as I first started off, that I wanted to crawl down a hole and quit! The soreness that follows the first days of working out didn't help, either. Oh the joy, when I could move my limbs without pain! But the biggest reward is that I did it!

The goal: to lose 20-25 lbs! ( this week I lost 3 lbs) It's motivated me a bit more!

As I have that in mind, my other thought turns to a healthy diet! There has been small, well more of ity-bitty steps! My biggest weakness, Sweets! With all the diets out there, I knew this would be the biggest challenge! I tried a vegetarian diet for just one day. The natural sugars in fruit helped to easy the sugar craving a bit. Having grown up hispanic and Texan, there needs to be meat in my meals at least every other day. Earlier in the week I had attended a recipe group, where I was in luck to 1. talk to a good friend who is a nutritionist, and 2) taste a smoothie that was healthy and delicious! It had spinach, berries, 100% fruit juice, yogurt. It doesn't sound great, but the taste was sweet! Lo and I didn't notice the spinach much, Mike on the other hand as the veggie hit his lips, he pursed his lips and demanded to know what was in it!

Recipe Group- Breakfast

2011-01-26T00:25:00.003Z

Migas Mexicana

serves 4

I really enjoy whipping this up during the week. It is quick and delicious. And you can make it spicy if you want, by adding salsa in there on the very last step!

8 tortillas

4 eggs

1/4 cup cheese

2 tbsp veggie oil

salt

pepper

1. Heat oil. Cut tortillas into 2 inch strips. Fry in oil until golden brown. At this point is where I like to add the salt and pepper. Drain on paper.

2. Return tortilla strips to heat. Add eggs and mix. Plate and then add cheese.

**For a simpler shortcut, I have bought tortilla strip chips and crunched them a bit and just went on to step two.

You can garnish with avocado, salsa!

Enjoy.

Texas Time!

2011-01-22T02:31:00.005Z

As Mike sits here next to me watching Shutter Island, very creepy so far, I thought it was about time I did a little updating on my blog!

We got to Texas on the 28, Lo and I a couple of days before Mike. We had our second Christmas at my moms house. It was a nice time! Overall just hanging out and letting Logan hang out with the family!

Aunt Aide and Logan. Both have lovely smiles!

This smile with those eyes always makes me laugh, even if I am angry with him!

Logan just loves his uncle Lenny! He spoils his only nephew!

Lo with uncle Gilbert

Logan trying to get some food from uncle Joe.

He loves his grandma.

Val's new guitar!

While there I got a lovely surprise from my Grandmother. She had yet to meet Logan and took an 8 hour bus ride to come see the little guy! It was such a blessing to get to hang out with her and enjoy some delicious food.

Grandma Eva, Logan and I.

Grandma making Tamales!

Mom, Gandma, and Logan!

Up next: The cruise!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-27T15:06:00.004Z

So on Christmas morning Logan woke up after we did. He was patiently waiting in his crib for either Mike or I to come and get him. He could see us from his crib, and was just chatting away while we set up his gifts. He was so excited. We decided this year that we would not wrap his gifts, instead we would just have them set up and ready for him to play.

After I took him out of his crib, I made him crawl to the living room so that he could get the full effect of all his new toys. Such a fun Christmas. And I know they will only get better! Below is the video of him crawling to his gifts.

Good Cheer to All!

2010-12-24T16:05:00.002Z

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas! May you be blessed to be surrounded by family, friends, loved ones, laughter, and the spirit of Christ fill your home!

Cheers,

The Bowerbanks

Catching up

2010-12-14T13:41:00.003Z

It has been a while since Ive been able to post something. Our computer was on the fritz so every time I would try it would over heat. Thank goodness for Black Friday. We were able to purchase a new one and now I just need to catch up!

November came and went. We host Thanksgiving at our home, and it all turned out really well. We ate, and ate, and then ate some more. I did the usual black Friday shopping and got a big chunk of the shopping out of the way. As of today, I am almost done! We bought our Christmas tree, and decorated it that Sunday.

Logan started to crawl and stand up on things. He is all over, and nothing is safe with him. He has licked a couple of floors, and flies to the bathroom if a door is left open! He has had a couple of falls, but nothing major, well he did fall off the bed once, and I am so glad it happened when I was not around.

Mike is working and we enjoy having him around every other Friday. It gives me a break, and he really does enjoy hanging out with Logan and bonding with him. I love seeing them together, when Mike is reading Logan a book, or when they are wrestling on the floor. My two loves. Logan says ma ma ma ma. And just recently is saying da da da da da da.

Family Pictures!

2010-11-12T17:14:00.004Z

A good friend of mine took our family pictures this year! We were so excited, and had so much fun doing so. Logan was all smiles to the camera.

This is one of my favorite!

If you live in the DC area check out www.oscarsonphotography.blogspot.com , they did a great job.

A Simple Confession!

2010-11-09T14:58:00.002Z

yes i am trying to loose some weight. yes it was me who at the box of girl scout cookies. yes i did savor every cookie, each single time i ate one. yes, i did not share. yes. yes. yes.

so i had one set back. accepting i have a girl scout cookie is the first step to recovery.

Caldo de Pollo, makes me feel better!

2010-11-05T01:21:00.003Z

To all the ladies out there!

How do you do it! Oh my goodness I have been down and out with a cold and am so miserable. I wonder how am I ever going to feel better if Logan needs so much from me. Ugh.

I was talking to my mother via skype today and she told me to make some chicken soup today. WHAT! I have never done it, MOM you need to get over here and make it for me, I feel sick. Well as I was thinking that, I realized, I'm the mom now. Yikes. What. SO I just asked her how to make it. I kept calling her back. And even like that, following her directions, it still did not taste like hers. Maybe its the fact that she did it, and I just waited for her to bring it to my room, that made it taste so much better. How did she do it, with six kids, when she got sick. I just want to crawl into my room, close the door, crawl under my covers, and sleep.

What I do end up doing is crawling into my room, little boy following me saying ma ma ma ma, not mama yet but close, can't close the door in case he cries during the night, and since he too is under the weather, needs comforting from his mama, and wants extra feeding time. I end up in the living room sofa with my covers and a lack of sleep. In the sofa to make my walk to his crib much shorter in the middle of the night. In the sofa, to keep my dear husband from getting sick with the hope that he will help with Logan when he gets home from work so that I can get some rest. In the sofa because, overall I like sleeping in sofas, period.

My moms chicken soup has helped me feel a bit better today, just a taste of home, in a bowl. Yummy mummy! Today was a rainy day, I though I am feeling blue, I like it. It reminded me of England in a way! Rain, and a bit cold today, and I was okay with that. I open my curtains to take it all in and got lost in my thoughts for a bit, until I started to cough, which ended up waking my sleeping baby from his nap!

Here it is how I made it today, my mom does not keep recipe cards, and it always is a little of this or that or whatever you have in the pantry.

5 chicken legs bone in
1/2 bag of carrots
4 stalks of celery
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
4 potatoes
2 corn on the cob
1/2 of a green bell pepper
4 ounces tomato sauce
a splash of hot sauce
1 bullion cube of chicken and tomato
1 tablespoon salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
bay leaf
1 tsp celery seed

In a large pot fill half way with water. Add chicken, and herbs and spices and start to cook on medium high. Peel potatoes and cut in cubes and add to water. Add cloves of garlic whole into the pot as well. Cut onion in half and toss in. Cut corn on the cob into half's and add to water. Cut celery, and carrots into bit sizes and add to water. I just cut half of the bell pepper, removed the seeds and tossed it in. ( We don't really like bell pepper to much, so it is easy to take out once the soup is done. ) Cook it all for about 45 min and its done. I like to eat it with some Mexican rice! Growing up my mom would make the rice on the side and add it to our bowls after the soup was in it. The Red rice just had so much more flavor that way. We would always top it off with a squeeze of lime juice. It was so good! Mike really like it! You can add more chicken.

Fab-BOO-lous Halloween times!

2010-11-01T13:58:00.004Z

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year for two reasons, I love the fall! It not only means pumpkins, candy, goblins, and leaves changing colors, but it also means family time! I love my little family and look forward to all the first Logan will experience!

The second reason is that it means Christmas is not that far away! My other favorite holiday!

I started off the holiday season with some baking! I made these wonderfully moist pumpkin cupcakes with my Honey Lemon Cream Cheese frosting! The recipe had called for maple, but since I did not have any around, I thought I would substitute maple for honey, then I saw the lemon and added some zest and juice!
I had some wonderful friends over for some sugar making cookies! So much fun!

Even Logan joined in on the cookie making extravaganza!

You can't have Halloween without carving a pumpkin!

This year I decided to roast the pumpkin seeds and tried this recipe from Parade ( Parade.com ) section of the Sunday paper:

Dry seeds for 30 min @ 300 F.

Take out and Toss with:

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg.

I had never thought they would really be good to eat, but now I think I will makes these every year.

We had our ward Trunk-or-Treat, and Logan went as a bat! He had so much fun looking at all the other kids in their costumes!

( My little family.)

We decided to head out and hit a couple of homes just to get Logan used to the idea of Halloween, and well to take some pictures! As you can tell, I am having way more fun than he is. Mike was a great sport and humored me in going out for a little while.

The first home we hit up! Look at him eyeing the candy. Thanks Yvonne!

Our little Tiger!

We came home after a couple of minutes, and handed out candy for the rest of the night while we watched TV!

Half-birthday

2010-10-20T17:10:00.005+01:00

On Monday Lo had his half birthday. Time is going by so fast. We didn't do much other than run errands, and hung out with some friends.

At 6 months he:

loves mom and dad
loves family
loves other babies and friends
loves to smile
loves baths
loves to splash
loves to eat
loves grabbing things
gets up as if to crawl and just goes back and forth
he can sit
enjoys tummy time way to much
loves watching sports with dad or alone
loves to pull down the bump guard on the crib and peek out
loves to peek-a-boo
loves to have a taste of what we are eating
loves Coldplay
loves books
loves rolling around
loves his soccer ball

Yesterday I took him to the park and put him on the swing. He was cheesing so much!

10/10/10- Logan's Baby Blessing

2010-10-13T12:29:00.004+01:00

In our church we don't baptize babies but give them a baby blessing. It was given by Mike. It was a wonderful time, and he did great. Logan did not crying, and as soon as it was over he slept for the rest of sacrament.

My wonderful family!

Mike and Logan!

Logan with my side of the family.

Logan and his grandparents!

Logan and his grandma.

Four generations!

Logan and his great aunt Nancy.

Our good friends Megan and Ellie!

Logan and his great grandpa.

Afterwards we had people over to eat some yummy food. There are only a few occasions that call for a chocolate fountain and today was one of them! My aunts tamales were a great hit! You can never go wrong with chili!

Texas Tornado

2010-10-12T01:49:00.002+01:00

This weekend a Texas Tornado hit my home and I loved it. My family came up for a visit, well not really a visit, but rather what seemed one not-too-long-why-can't-you-stay-longer day! My mother, 2 brothers and 2 sisters drove 24 hours, and stayed 22 hours before driving 23 hours back home. We have felt so loved this weekend. I miss them already, and am grateful that they are back home safe and sound!

And what would account for such craziness?

An adorable soon-to-be six month old named LOGAN! I have lived here 5 years and this is the first time that they come here. No I am not jealous of my little baby boy, and how he has all my siblings and my mummy wrapped around his little finger! I love that they drove here for his baby blessing!

Ouch, that hurts.

2010-10-06T02:51:00.005+01:00

So after months of worry, I finally took Lo to the pediatrician. I was worried for nothing. He is developing as he should. The last time he had seen a doctor was when he was 8 weeks old, in Oxford. My biggest worry was that he was not up to date on his shots.

Poor little guy, he was flirting with the nurse and all of a sudden his eyes filled up with tears. He cried for about 2 minutes. A total of 3 shots. Ouch. I am just so grateful I did not have to hold him down, the nurse did all the work. It broke my heart last time, when I was the one to restrain him. When she was done she was trying to perk him up a bit by trying to make him laugh. She did get one last good smile from him before he told her what he thought. He went on and on. I only wish I knew what he was telling her.

His stats:

Head: 16.5 20%

Length: 25 1/2 45%

Weight: 15.9 lbs 25%

I really had a great experience with his doctor, and like the office. The parking is a pain, but other than that I like it. He is a drooling boy right now, as is starting to get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Oh my, he might be crawling before I know it! He is only 5 months old.

I have been running around like a chicken without a head trying to get the last bit of stuff for my home. We have family coming in to town, as we prepare to bless Lo this coming Sunday. My grandpa was up in the air, and undecided if he would attend, but has just confirmed that he will be here! I am so excited. Lo is his first great grandson! It will be the first time he will meet him, and well there will be many other firsts for my poor grandpa. This will be his first time on a plane. He was getting anxiety attacks, but seems so much better now. This will be his first time to DC. We will see how it goes. As far as I know he isn't much of a traveler!

My mother and most of my brothers and sisters should be en route by Thursday. I only pray all goes okay! My mother and father in law should arrive on Saturday! Yay I just love that family will be here. Oh how I have missed them all.

Mike is enjoying cable and the sports channels. He is doing good in his fantasy football league, me , not so well. He did go and try the indoor driving range the other day, and has play a bit of softball.

Apples, Babbles, and Babies

2010-09-30T02:58:00.002+01:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to Front Royal with the lovely Simmons family! Fallish weather and tons of apples made for a great fun day. It was Logan's 5 month birthday. We had such a wonderful time finding apples. The greatest part of it all was knowing that the apples I was picking would be made into baby food. It didn't take long for us to pack up and get going. There is a window of time to do it, then the babes started to get fussy.

The greatest part of going to Front Royal is the time spent with great friends. Just knowing that there is no schedule makes for a wonderful weekend. Late night playing games, great food, and just great chatter. We always seem to know we are here, as peoples personalities relax. (Sometime a little too much, MIKE.) LOL.

Our friends have a little girl that is only 2 weeks older than Lo. He loves watching her, and would spend minutes just looking at what she was doing. The best part was seeing how alike, but how different they are. Even if they are only 2 weeks old. Overall Lo did great being away from home, and the car ride was a breeze. He only started to fuss as we got close to home.

I only wish there was an Apple house close by so that i could make a quick run for some apple donuts. Yummy.

3 hours

2010-09-28T21:06:00.003+01:00

That is right 3 maybe 4 hours is what I got of sleep last night.

Lo (Logan) is stuffed up and whenever he would cough or was having to breathing loudly I was at his crib side. Needless to say after 3 am I figured I would just suck it up and have him sleep in bed with us. Not the best idea since he kept waking me up. At around 4 Mike went to sleep on the couch. He was coming back in at 6 am to probably sleep in just a little bit longer, but I handed him Lo. I was like, "I have hardly slept can you just watch him." I end up waking at 730am and the house was quiet. I get up to move to the sofa to see if Logan was asleep, since Mike is usually gone to work by now. Nope, he was running late.

I am so grateful for the extra hours of sleep he allowed me to sleep so that I could at least function today! I have not left the house, or called anyone. I feel like a zombie.

Today is also my Mothers birthday!

Happy birthday MOM! We are excited to see you soon!

"Happy Birthday Abuelita", Love Lo!

Getting Settled

2010-09-01T16:35:00.002+01:00

With 2 boxes to go, I almost feel settled into our new place. It is really starting to grow on me. I have been trying to work on finishing Logan's room. I am ready to get him into his own crib.

My little man is really growing. He has started teething. I feel so bad for him. He loves eating his cereal and veggies. If we are eating he wants to be at the table with us eating as well.

We moved back into our old ward, and it is sad not seeing everyone there. People have moved, and I miss my friends. I am grateful for the ones that are still there. But its just not the same. Some much change in just one year. ( I leave and come back with a baby)

I am missing family! I know Logan is too! It has really hit me how much I want to live where family is close by. I hate Logan not having cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma's and grandpa's close.

As I see the weather slowly start to change I feel the excitement grow within me. One of the things that I love about living in Virginia is the FALL! I look forward to the holidays, pumpkins, squash, the deep reds, yellows and oranges! Fall fairs, corn maze walks, and the upcoming trip to see family! The weather is perfect in the fall.

Update!

2010-08-23T01:34:00.004+01:00

A long overdue update:

Spent almost a whole month in Cali with Mikes family. Logan and I headed to Utah and then drove up to Idaho for a fun filled week up near Yellowstone. We enjoyed hanging out with Mike's 2 brothers Chris and Rob and their wonderful family! We had so much fun. Logan got to meet all of his cousins! I just loved to see them all want to hold him and make him smile. We saw the Old faithful as well as some stink pots. There were many animals! Tons of fun.

When we got back to Cali from Yellowstone Logan and I were finally reunited with Mike. It was a long 3 weeks without him. It took Logan a little bit to remember Mike was his daddy. A couple of days later and we were off again on another plan to Texas!

My family the Davila's and the Johnsen's were so excited to see and meet Logan! My mother spoiled him rotten the whole two weeks we were there. We took a road trip to San Antonio and the following day we went tubing down the Comal river! It was nice to hang out with my siblings. There were so many people I had said I would hang out with but with all that happened I did not. I hope to see them the next time around.

On another note after years of no contact with my father he showed up. He wanted to meet Logan and he did. There were too many emotions and it was a very weird experience. I thank my Heavenly Father for his strength to help me deal with all of this as well as I could. It also made me realize all the blessings and the wonderful people he placed in my path. I have been surrounded with so much love and a wonderful sudo father that have been there to be in my life. And although my own father has missed some wonderful times in my life, I hope that one day things will get better. He made a step in the right direction, and I did not block it. I am glad that my son has met his grandfather. But it will be baby steps from my part.

We made it to Virginia! We found a place to live, in our old ward, and bought a car. We were so blessed to have wonderful friends that we could turn to until we got things sorted out! Thanks Rich Luz and Cannan for sharing your wonderful home and giving us a place to stay until we moved in into our own place. And Thanks to Josh, Brandie, and Izzie for allowing us to use your car until we bought our own.

Logan is growing and getting so much louder. I have very slowly started to give him a little bit of solids and he is eating it up! In Texas he started to roll over! He loves to smile, and hang out with his daddy! He loves TV. Logan is 4 months now and getting so much bigger! Remeber all that wonderful hair he had when he was born. It is all gone now. So much is falling out. ;(

Mike is still working on his paper due mid september. He is working and enjoying his new car and is excited to use the amenities that come with living here (indoor golfing range, indoor/outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, putting green...). He loves that he does not have to take a bus anymore. There is a shuttle that takes him to the metro.

Where are we?

2010-08-07T15:14:00.002+01:00

We have been all over from England to America!

Once we get settled in I will catch up with all the wonderful things we have done. We are still in Texas for now, but will be back in Virginia next Tuesday!

Excited to finally get settled into a home!

Me miss you long time, DC!

I have come to the End of the Road

2010-07-01T14:37:00.002+01:00

As I sit here taking a break from packing, cleaning, and trying to care for Logan, I am tired. I really would love a nap, but if I did then I would not be so willing to want to finish when I wake up. I would leave it all for Mike to do, and well as much as I would love to do that, I shouldn't.

We got back from our trip today at noon and I went quickly had to start getting things done so that I can be ready for my early morning trip tomorrow.

Looking back at the time spent here I have grown so much.

I am a mom now.
I can get anywhere in Oxford on a bus!
I am not afraid of public transportation.
I learned to punt.
I joined the newcomers club.
I have leaned I don't need a car to go a mile, I can walk.
I am more independent.

I will miss the crazy weather here. I will miss Wednesday market. I will miss the National Trust homes, and castles. I will miss Squitchy Lane bus stop. I will miss our itty bitty flat. I will miss Oxford Ward. I will miss Boswells. I will miss Summertown. I will miss the Newcomers Club. I will miss Summertown Clinic. I will miss very little of the food. I will miss all the people I have met, and have come to call friends. As the cool breeze hits my face, it is wonderful that the hottest it has been here is 82 and we are now in July.

I will not miss not being close to family! Ya! I am so excited to see them and I get to celebrate the 4th of July. Here is to the upcoming 11 hr flight with a 2 1/2 month old. Next time I post I will be across the pond, back to my wonderful country of everything super sized from store to food to cars and cities.

Random Posting by Mike

2010-06-27T00:03:00.005+01:00

Well, I don't usually post on this blog very often, but every once in awhile I'll write something just to see if anyone reads these things anymore. I kind of wonder if they are going the way of the slap bracelets/MC Hammer Pants/wearing Biker Shorts to school/stealing chromies/Starter jackets/tails/any White Rapper, cool for a little bit and then when you look back you say, that wasn't that cool.

But I think blogs can serve a purpose, if only to provide an outlet for creativity late at night when you can't watch another episode of insert 90s sitcom here. But I digress...back to sports

As with many of you, I too watched the World Cup and watched the US lose tonight to a Ghanaian team that wasn't all that good either. I think coming off the big win less than 3 days ago definitely drained the team's energy and it showed in the extra time. As a former soccer player, it was great to see the US jump on the soccer bandwagon and support the US team; however, I still think that it will remain a quadrennial occurence.

I do hope that MLS continues to be successful and one day can attract players from all over the world, not just aging greats looking for a nice place to retire. Through the growth of the domestic league, maybe better athletes, (namely non-suburban white kids and yes I'm including myself in the suburban white kid category), will look to soccer as a possible destination. Right now, an athlete has to decide between pursuing soccer and making $100,000 in MLS or pursuing basketball/football/baseball and making millions...hard decision. Walter Payton's son was a rising soccer star in his teenage years . In high school, he switched to football, played for Miami and is currently in the CFL as a running back. How nice it would be to have 6' 23o lbs Forward on our national soccer team....maybe someday...

2010-06-21T10:25:00.005+01:00

We celebrated Mike's 1st Fathers Day with the traditional ice cream and waffles for breakfast followed by presents. Afterward Mike headed to the Library to study for the rest of the day. Today is his last test here in Oxford! I am so excited that he will be done with that part. I will finally get to see him more.

While Mike was studying he asked me to take a picture of Logan for his passport. We will be heading to London tomorrow to work on all the paper stuff needed so that we can be ready by July 2.

The following are my attempts for a photo:

Here is the final result. I had to take one more this morning just in case they don't take the other. It was so funny to try and get him to take a good photo. Oh and this is "El cheapo" way to print up photos for your passport. Leave it to Mike to find out how to do it. I will just go and print out these for the passport.

He looks like a little criminal on top! LOL!

Day of 2's

2010-06-18T13:13:00.004+01:00

Today is a day of 2's.

Wow, 2 months has gone by pretty quickly.Logan is chatting with me all the time, I only wish I knew what he was saying. He is more alert and likes it when I sing and dance with him. He gets a cheesy grin when I play the jungle books "I want to be like you" song. All in all he has us wrapped around his little finger. He is lifting his head up high. One of the funniest things that I have notice, and find a little annoying at times is that Logan always wants to "eat" when we eat. It does not matter if I just fed him an hour before, but he knows when we are about to have dinner. Yesterday was the first time we left him with someone, at all went okay. The only thing was that he refused to take the formula milk. Good thing I had fed him right before, and we were only gone for about 3 hrs, but still. Once he heard my voice he started to stuck his hand, and cry.

Today also marks my 2 week notice here in England. The weather has been brilliant, and I am both getting anxious to see family, and am getting sadder that I am leaving such a beautiful country.

I had 2 helping of cereal today.
I have to do 2 loads of laundry today.
I have 2 football games to watch the US in about 2 hours, and England later on tonight.
And here are 2 photos of Logan recently.

Eights Week

2010-05-30T22:23:00.004+01:00

On Wednesday Logan and I headed out the The Oxford Newcomers Club! It was so nice to go and hang out with people whom I hadn't seen since the end of the first term (there are three school terms in a year). As many gathered around to meet little Logan I realized how much I had missed socialising with these people.

They had a trip planned for the day and we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and joined them. It was a boat trip to Iffy village! Along the way we came across "Eights Week".

What is Eights Week?

Its Oxford University's main intercollegiate rowing event of the year.The 5th week of the Trinity term in Oxford from Wed-Sat. there is the annual Bumps Race. The idea is to crash (bump) into the boats ahead of you. Once bumped both boats are out of the race, and the boat who bumped will go ahead of them in the river the next time. The idea being to become the head of the river, where the winning crew gets the winning blades with their names and school colours on them. A dozen boats race in each division moored at boat length. There are the shots fired at 5 min. before, 1 before, and the start of the race. Bump racing is somewhat cruel as it encourages the teams to sprint the whole way. As soon as two boats bump they are out of the race! The boats are packed closely together at the start so there is no margin for error: start off late ('catch a crab') and your chances of making it are slim.

We went to Iffy village. Such a beautiful little village with a 12th century church! Logan, my friend Neha, and I walk along the path back toward city center. We were able to catch more of the races as we walked back along the boat houses. After we passed some of the boat houses, we caught up with a few of the other girls from the Newcomers Club. They had picked a perfect spot for a small picnic, and though we did not have anything to contribute to the picnic they invited us along. We had a perfect view to watch the rest of the colleges in Oxford compete against each other! So much fun!

The End is Near

2010-05-26T22:11:00.003+01:00

Just a while ago, Mike booked my ticket home! I thought I would be so happy but am not. Yes I am excited to see family and have some yummy mexican food, but so much has happened here that England will always have a special place in my heart! I find it difficult to think of the friends I have just met and am getting to know. I will make the most of the time I do have!

Well the clock is counting down my final weeks here. I offically leave July 2nd! At least I will be back in time to celebrate the 4th of July. Fireworks celebrating my return to the homeland. LOL!

My first stop is going to be California!

Fun times

2010-05-24T05:26:00.009+01:00

"Praise the sports of the land And water, each one. The bath by the beach, or the yacht on the sea. But of all the sweet pleasures Known under the sun; A good game of Croquet's the sweetest to me."

-Reid,Thomas Mayne

Not this past weekend bur the one before our friends Kristy and Miles hosted a BBQ and a fun game of croquet. The lazy sunny afternoon was great weather for such fun. It was our first time playing the game and I love it! I told Mike that I wanted to get a set so that we could play when we go back home. We lost, but I had a couple of decent shots throughout the course. As our time here draws close to an end I am soaking as much of the culture as I can.As the sun went down and the weather got colder we retreated back inside their home to watch the episode of House Hunters International that they were on. It was quiet a riot to watch them on the tele.

Earlier that day we had gone to the ruins at Minster Lovell. It was a small village about 20 minutes North of Oxford. We had rented a car for the weekend so we took advantage of taking in some new sites around Oxfordshire. We should of packed a nice picnic since the area had a nice stream running through it with huge trees on both sides. There were families there enjoying the beautiful weather.

1 month has passed

2010-05-18T22:16:00.004+01:00

Time flies.

(picture taken today)
it is hard to see it go by so quickly and see our little baby grow so quickly! he is one month old today and I am so happy he is growing healthy and strong. he can hold his head up for long periods of time. he hates baths, and cries through most of it. he cries when we change his nappy. he loves sleeping in bed with mum and daddy (something I swore I would never do). he loves going out for a walk in the pram. he will take a dummy which makes me happy. he know that i am food.

(Logan at Minster Lovell 15 century ruins this weekend! )

as for me, I am feeling so much better. i am feeling great, and looking good too. i no longer feel so sad, and am enjoying motherhood so much more. it is getting better.

In A Puddle of Tears

2010-05-13T12:39:00.004+01:00

It is 3am and I just finished feeding Logan. Sleep has left my sleepy eyes, so here I am writing.

I'm not one to tell all, but on the flip side I'm not much of a private person. I say this because as of late I had been dealing with a little bit of depression. I had been dealing with it in private, afraid of what people would think. I would cry when I was alone, but then it got worse and I would cry in front of Mike. I couldn't understand why! I mean, it was difficult to get pregnant, so I was ecstatic when we found out the IUI had worked! So why was I so sad? I had wanted this child for a long time. I couldn't understand it.

Finally the health care provider who came to visit and see how I was doing asked the right questions. I broke down in tears, and told her all. She smiled and explained to me that I was relieving all the emotion that I had bottled up before and during the pregnancy. After all it was harder than I had expected, stuck at home, no family close by, and dealing with much on my own. My body was just trying to healthily get rid of all the emotion. Once she explained it all, it made sense to me. I thought it was just emotion from the birth! It made me feel so much better, and not like a failure. She told me that it was great for me to have opened up to her. If I had continued to deal with it on my own it could easily gotten so much worse.

I am not saying that I am completely feeling better, but I am on my way there. I have learned in the past that from sharing some of these hard personal trials I have made some great friends who have or are going through similar things. Sometimes someone just needs to share what they went through to help someone else.

I am a Momma Bear! I love my little Logan, and would do anything to keep him safe from harm. In knowing this now I feel I can talk about what I am going through. It was wonderful to have my mother in law here for a week. But I can't express how excited I am for Mike to be done with school, so that we can move back home.

I love England, and all the wonderful people I have met,how could I not(look at the beautiful picture below)! I want my family close by. I can't wait to go to Texas! I miss it! I want to move back there, but living in the USA will suffice. I want Logan to meet all my family!

What I am not looking forward to, the long international flight I will have to make on my own with a 2 month old! It is terrifying me to think of it!

Cheers!

Where have you been?

2010-05-07T09:27:00.002+01:00

Dear Blog,

Please don't feel bad, you are not the only thing that I am ignoring. The dishes, laundry, thank you cards, my hair, sleep, are a few other things that are not getting my attention.

The main part of my attention goes to a little lovable boy who demands it! Everyone tells me it will get easier, I hope it comes soon. For the most part he is a chill baby, at least the first two weeks. This week it has gotten a little bit harder since I had the baby blues too. As the blues have faded so has the fustration, now just need to catch up on sleep (wishful thinking...maybe in 18 years).

I will try to catch up soon and post more pictures!

Birth Day

2010-04-25T14:52:00.003+01:00

Exactly a week ago Logan Ryan Bowerbank was born. It is strange to think that I was to be induced tomorrow. I am so glad now that he is here. The week has gone by pretty fast, and am amazed at how much I love the little guy.

So here is what happened a week ago today.

Saturday night we hung out with friends, and played games. We went over to their place, it was nice to get out of the house. We ended up getting home past midnight. Like the past months I was still having contractions every now and then. We went to bed a little after 1 am. I woke up around 4 am with some more contractions, but the pain level was the same as the ones before. I didn't think much of it. Got up and went to the loo. There was a very small bit of blood when I wiped. Didn't think much of it but told Mike. He asked if I wanted to phone the midwife and let her know, but I didn't think it was a big deal. About 20 min later I got up again, the contractions were coming about every 10 min. but that was nothing new. It had happened many times before. I walked to the bathroom and felt a little trickle down my leg, by little I mean little, but it was a little bloody. At that point I thought there might be something wrong with the baby, so I told Mike to phone Labour and Delivery. They told us to come in to check and see if everything was okay. I looked at Mike and said, "Maybe its time!" He looked at me and said,"I will believe it when they tell me its happening." We called a cab and headed to the JR Hospital. We brought our bags just in case, but didn't think I was in Labour. I mean I hadn't even had the chance to write down my labour plan!

We were check in to the hospital at 6 am and taken to a delivery room. We waited about 3o min before the midwife came to check up on us. The pain was bearable for a while, then I buzzed here to let her know it was more intense than I had ever had. She asked if I wanted gas and air. (Its like the stuff they give you when you go to the dentist. It is a very common method of pain relief in England.) Once I got on that, it was good. 10 min later she came in to check down under, and see if I was in actual labour and why I had some bleeding. She looked surprised and told me that I was at 4 cm. and we would be having this baby today.

Mike and I looked at each other in disbelief. We seriously did not think we were in actual labour. I mean, I had just turned 37 weeks at midnight. Yikes. I got really scared. I thought I had a week to mentally prepare for the birth of our child, and here we were a week earlier than planned.

Everything started to happen very quickly. I kept on with the gas and air, but my contractions were coming on top of each other and wouldn't give me a break to recover, or for the baby to recover. I kept walking around the room sucking the gas and air. That stuff works very well. The midwife couldn't leave my side since from the look at things I was progressing fast. At around 8:30 am the midwife checked to see how far I had progressed, because at this point I was yelling for more drugs since the contractions were not stopping. She checked twice and couldn't believe I was 9 cm. Just as she was done, there was a shift change, and a new midwife came in. They call the doctor because at this point I started to grunt, a sign I was really ready to push, to see if I could still get the epidural. Thankfully they allowed it! After a while the stress in the room disappeared. And I as well as everyone else in the room was more comfortable.

The midwife said that she thought it was great I had opted to get the epidural. It would slow things down a bit, and hopefully the baby would turn so that he could be delivered. He was back to back, and if he didn't turn then I would have to go to theater (surgery). With things much better I laid in bed for a while, and when the Doctor came to check me the baby had in fact positioned himself for a normal delivery, and that when the next contraction came I should push. With that she left me and Mike with the midwife. The midwife asked me if I wanted to feel his head, it was getting ready to come out. I looked at here like she was crazy. I couldn't think of that, I had to focus all my energy in getting him out first. There would be plenty of time to feel him later. We started pushing at 1115am and by 1250 he was born. They had to cut me because baby Logan was holding on for dear life to the umbilical cord and would not come out. His heartbeat had dropped a couple of times, and I needed to get him out. He was not breathing, (since he had cut off his own air supply by grasping on to the embilical cord) but thankfully it wasnt for long. They had pressed the panic button, but as they started to rush to our room he started to cry. What a relief that was. He was fine!

Mike cut the cord, and I held him right away. I was surprised and in shock for the next couple of days. And by shock I mean shock. I think I only shed a couple of tears, but that was it. I couldn't believe it. After all that I had been through the last two months, he was here. I couldn't wrap my head around that fact. We were wheeled aways to the maternity ward where we stayed for 4 days. Since Logan was born early he was starting to develop jaundice and they wanted to monitor him more. We were able to go home since his levels never hit 300, although they were pretty high. They told us to wake him up every 3 hrs, and put him in sunlight whenever possible.

Poor Mike saw more than he wanted to, but was a great coach. I couldn't have done it without him. Literally. He told me he was so happy when I got the epidural, he couldn't stand seeing me in that much pain. It took us more than 36 hours to figure out what we would name him, but we finally decided.

Was it worth it? Heck yes it was.

He's Here! Three Weeks Early.

2010-04-21T22:30:00.008+01:00

Logan Ryan Bowerbank

Date: Sunday April 18, 2010

Time: 12:50 pm

Weight: 7 lb 5 oz

Length: 19 inches

Place: Oxford, England

Left Hospital: Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Number of dirty diapers changed by Janie: 10

Number of dirty diapers changed by Mike: 1/2 (he ran away after seeing the stuff)

Details in next post.

"Keep those legs Closed!"

2010-04-12T11:12:00.003+01:00

The last words I heard from the doctor this past week before I was released from the hospital were, "Keep those legs closed." I had been in all week long due to tightening "contractions" that were not doing much, but causing pain. All in all not too bad, but hated that they would not stop, and have not. Oh well just taking medicine for the pain.

Had an appointment this morning. We will be having an April baby after all. If all goes well, and I make it till then, I will be induced at 38 weeks, so exactly 2 weeks from today. I was hoping with all that has been happening that it would be next week. I was so happy I almost cried, knowing I will not have to deal with this stuff too much longer.

So the new Due Date: APRIL 26!

An early birthday present to me, since I was born on the 29th! Yikes. That is coming up quick. I am happy, Mike thinks his life will end soon. First thing he told me after we left the doctors office was that he was going to go to a Soccer game this weekend without me. LOL.

Bits 'n' Bobs

2010-03-18T10:00:00.005Z

So we have made it to 32 1/2 weeks.

This weeks has been filled with flowers, chocolates, and fun. On Sunday we celebrated Mothering Sunday here in England. It was my first mothers day! And I get to celebrate it again come May! We kept it low key, and just hung out. I was able to get out of the house and go to church for sacrament. A sister in our ward left Sunday school to pick me up for church, since sacrament is the third hour here. It was such a blessing, since I had not been able to go for a while.

Yesterday was St. Patricks Day, and we had some beautiful flowers delivered first thing in the morning. As I went down to get them, I didn't know who they could be from. Once home I opened the note, and it was from Mom and Dad Bowerbank! They were beautiful! Green and white. Other than that I just been hanging around the house getting bigger.

My one addiction I have is I play the game Settlers online a couple of times in the day. I know lame, right. But it totally makes the time roll on! Mike is going to London tomorrow and I am so jealous that I cant go with him. The weather has been so lovely recently, in the low 50's. I cant wait for it to get just 10 degrees warmer. One thing I will really miss this year is the Cherry Blossoms in DC! It is one of my favorite times of the year!

All about Mike!

2010-03-13T08:59:00.003Z

Happy Birthday MIKE!

What a difference 29 years can make!

From this adorable little boy,

to this handsome man!

As far as birthdays go, Mike hates them. Anything that would associate him with a birthday, he frowns upon. The fact that he is getting older is upsetting. I think next year we might have a break down, but for now we will enjoy his last year in his 20's!

The one birthday tradition that he eagerly looks forward to is waffles and ice cream for breakfast. I was sadden that we did not bring our waffle makes, and did not know of any place in Oxford that sold breakfast waffles. After a little more googling Mike found an ice cream parlor that makes breakfast waffles, with the added bonus that it is a ice cream place. So for breakfast in a little while, we will make the journey down to city centre!

With his birthday present backed up on my amazon order, it will arrive late. The cupcakes I ordered were not delivered which made me really upset. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will get here later today, but I doubt it. So the fact that we found this waffle place, makes me really happy (given the added bonus that I get to leave the flat for a bit, and hoping it doesn't cause me to go into labor).

I love this man,

for his sense of humour

his gentleness

his intellect

his hard work ethic

his ability to talk to anyone

his ability to calm me down

his love for his family

his love for me

his white lighting skills

his sense of adventure

his love for the gospel

his strength to strengthen me.

Happy Birthday! I love you!

Bored- Uninterested

2010-03-11T12:41:00.003Z

You would think that being on bed rest, and having nothing to do would encourage me to write on a more daily basis, but that has not been the case.

I am feeling a bit bored with all that is going on. The only time I leave the house is to go to Dr. appointments, and that leaves me dead tired, sore, and with contractions. I do like that I can move around our flat a bit, since its so small. I am grateful that Baby Bowerbank has stayed in the womb!

At my last Dr. appointment the Dr. told me that she thinks he will come early, but she is hoping I can make it to 34 weeks. When she felt my very round tummy, as I was having a contraction, she didn't look very hopeful. Oh well. Its all in Gods hands at this point.

My Weekend at Winchester...

2010-03-02T09:57:00.004Z

So here is what happened this weekend as I was admitted to the hospital.

Friday morning rolls around and I head to work. It starts off slow, the work load is minimal and I am enjoying the morning. Around 10 am I get my first of many braxton hicks. The third one is so painful I cry. Since I work at the hospital I call the Labor ward, and am told to come in. Email Mike to let him know what is going on, I know he is class, but I don't think its anything too serious. I am admitted and put on a monitor to be watched. At around 4:30 ish I am told that I the test they did was negative, and that they don't think I will go into labor in the next 48 hours but that they will continue to monitor me. My contractions pick up, and the new shift of midwives comes in. She does an internal exam to see what is really going on. The contractions are making me dilate. They let me know that they need to give me the first of two steroid shots to help develop the baby's lung, and that they will try to stop the contractions so that his lungs will develop.

At this point I am starting to freak out. I mean, I am only 29 weeks +5 days. Along with that news, they let us know that at the moment there would not be room at the hospital for a 29 week old baby, all the cots were full. They were going to have to transfer us to a new hospital soon, just in case he did come early. About an hour later they told us we would be going to Winchester, which was a hour's drive south. Mike goes home and gets some things together. The ambulance takes its time, so Mike makes it back in time to ride with us. I get a blessing that truly puts my mind at ease, knowing things will work out fine for both me and the baby. We arrive at 11:30 pm to the Winchester hospital. I am put in the labor ward, but after some monitoring am transferred to another room. The contractions have slowed down a bit, but not stopped. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I am in hospital being monitored. They let me know I could go home on Monday afternoon, since they did not think that I would go into labor in the next 48 hours. I am still having contractions/braxton hicks every hour or so, but they are not as painful.

We are glad to be back home for the moment. I am hoping some bed rest will do us some good. Knowing that he has had the steroid shots, and that many baby's survive at this age bring me much peace. Man, in my mind I was thinking I still had 10 weeks, but my chances of giving birth early have gone up. I guess Mike and I should really start thinking about names, and get our labour bag ready. We are hoping we can keep the baby in for 2 more weeks at least, that way we don't have to be transferred to far away, if they happen to be full again. We are so thankful for everyone prayers I have felt them as they have strengthen me physically and emotionally. I keep thinking I will break down and cry at any moment since I really haven't done that, but it might not happen. I will post a new picture up soon.

On a funnier note, while in Winchester we were stuck to a hosptial room, on Saturday I told Mike to go out see the town and get us some snacks. He gets back all excited and tells me that I would love to see this town. He wished he had taken his camera, and said that he thought of going in and taking a tour, but thought he should get back to see how I was doing. On the way home, I got to see a bit of the town and it was so lovely. I want to go back for a visit, AFTER the baby comes. Here are some random facts about Winchester:

Jane Austen Died here.

Her bones rest at the the Winchester cathedral. Some of the Da Vinci film was filmed in this town or cathedral as well.

29 weeks and I am going crazy.

2010-02-23T16:03:00.007Z

It's been a while since I have wanted to blog. I am so tired when I get home from work I usually eat, and sleep.

Quick recap: On Valentines Mike got me the Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden: Mum to Be. The lotions and oils make my skin feel so soft and nice. Along with that he also got me some Chocolates. He was going to take me to a dinner and a show in London, but asked me if that is what I wanted to do. I would of loved it, but the weather was going to and happened to be horrible for a trip to London. I opted for dinner and a movie here in Oxford. We saw Avatar, and although he wanted to take me somewhere nice, all I seemed to want for dinner was Pizza Hut pizza. Needless to say it was a low key day. I really loved that.

We had a wonderful time this past Sunday at our Bishops house. We had a lovely dinner, hung out and chatted, and then I spent some alone time with Sister Dick, while Mike played and won the game Settler's. Sister Dick is an amazing woman, she is a Doula, and we talked much about labor, breastfeeding, and breathing exercises. I am so grateful for her help, and the wonderful one on one time spent. I think that I really would love to try for a natural labor, a birthing pool, but we will see. I'm usually a sceptic and have a tendency to think anything like natural labour is hippy-ish and would be a wast of time. But now after trying some of the techniques I think that I am having to eat my own words. ( I have been getting some very painful braxton hicks, more on that later!) Well in the mist of her showing me breathing exercises I had two, and the breathing really helped, along with the movements. I am not the type who would have her baby at home, not comfortable. I like knowing there are doctors around, in case things take a turn for the worse, or if I do happen to need pain medication. I like knowing its there.

This pregnancy is driving me crazy!!!(Time to vent)

I have been seeing my doctors here on a very regular visits. From my GP and Midwife (they are both my primary pregnancy doctors) to others. I was assigned to a new doctor two weeks ago, OB due to the fact I had MRSA in the states, and needed to a specialist. (Here you don't see an OB unless you are considered high risk or have had some problems). But as of today I will no longer be in her care. Well I have had one episode of sugar in my urine. I did the screen test and ended up being in the GREY zone. My GP rushed my results to the hospital, where I would need to be seen by the Feto-Medicine Clinic, for women with gestational diabetes. Well I saw them today. I spent 2 1/2 hours speaking with five different doctors/midwifes/nurses today. I am to monitor myself with the little machine (6 finger pricks a day) for two weeks, go back and show them my results to see if I will need to get on medication. I knew that I was at a higher risk of getting Gestational diabetes because I have PCOS. To be honest I prefer this group of people to take care of me than my midwife. My midwife sucks!!! I don't feel she is very approachable, and feel so rushed when I go see her. I was telling her about how my braxton hicks are accompanied by menstrual like cramps. She told me to go to the Labor unit the next time that happened. Today being among so many doctors and midwives I asked them about my braxton hicks (I was not satisfied with my first answer, so needed a second opinion), and they told me there was no need to go to the labor unit, but that they would be monitoring me more closely. Seriously, I don't know how much closer they can monitor me! I think that all the different doctors, is what is driving me INSANE(okay, venting done for now).......

I am grateful that they are being careful with me and our little bundle of chuck norris that is living in my belly. My appetite has finally made a full come back. I was so stressed today, that I took the day off and napped.

So I had been feeling sorry for myself, lame I know. I had been sad, knowing I would not get to see my family or they see me prego. You know the fun stuff, taking pictures with my mom and grandma, aunts and Mike's family, and my other family the Johnsens. I am not going to have a baby shower. Well that is over, as long as our little one comes into this world safe. I am not going to feel sorry for myself, after all England is nice, except I am starting to hate the weather. We did have 3 days of beautiful sunshine, then it snowed yesterday and today. I have decided that I am going to splurge on one item. Shopping is always therapeutic! And do you want to know what that is, this nifty little thing.

Mike liked it too! It got his attention first, and then I checked it out and fell in love. It's the Musty 4 rider. I am so excited about getting this, it makes me smile as type this. I think if we had more money to splurge and didn't have to take it back with us, Mike's top choice was this:

DID YOU KNOW THAT THEY DONT ROUTINELY DO CIRCUMCISION FOR BOYS IN THE UK? We found out that they don't do it in the hospital, we have to find a doctor who is willing to do it. Does anyone know how soon after a child is born that they do circumcision. Should we wait till we get back to the states, or find a doctor here?

What once was, now isn't!

2010-02-07T19:06:00.004Z

27 weeks

With the start of my new job, I have been getting home, eating, showering, and going to sleep soon after. I did not realise how tiring it would be, and it's a desk job. Other than that I really like working there. The commute is not that bad, just have to take a bus, sometimes two if they are too full.

(I bought these AE jeans before I was prego, and they still fit.

I LOVE them, they are not maternity jeans.

I think I can wear them all the way, we will see!)

After my first day of work, I came home and jokingly said,"Where's my dinner punk!". I'm the breadwinner now! Okay, maybe I shouldn't rub it in too much since that will be changing again in two-three months. It was a joke, and Mike always brings it up. LOL.

The pregnancy is progressing fine. I am tired, my feet are swelling a bit, balance is off, and my belly button is now an outie. Not all the way, but getting there. My stomach is growing every day it seems, pretty soon I will be as big as a hippo. I so don't feel like myself anymore. Things are just getting bigger, and rounder. I love feeling him moving, it is weird, but of course reassuring. He seems to be on a little schedule. I feel him very active at 11 am and again at5 pm and of course at night right before I go to bed. My dreams are freaking me out. I keep dreaming I am having the baby early, the seem so real.

Michael of course keeps calling the baby Ja'Michael, even in prayer time. I am not joking, and he keeps trying to sway people to his side. Of course people laugh, but come on. I am trying to be patient with him, but our baby will NOT be name Ja'Michael. School is going good for him, he is busy trying to plan his trip to Angola to do some research for his thesis.

25 weeks and 4 days preg.= 100 days to go!

2010-01-28T18:43:00.002Z

Less than 15 weeks to go.

We had our first NHS parenting class. It was informative, but a little too long..Mike liked that the teacher continued to compare giving birth to dropping a "deuce". Now he doesn't think giving birth is that hard since dropping "deuces" is pretty easy. She talked much about giving natural birth and made me think I really want to try going that route, but I want to have an epid. on stand by just in case.

I started working today at the hospital. Mike is so excited that he is finally living the dream. My first day was cut short due to our NHS parenting class. Overall I'm just sitting at a desk audio typing. It wouldn't be that difficult but some of the doctors accents are hard to understand. I hope to be able to work for a bit, and have some extra spending money. Not only that but it will make the weeks go by even faster.

Baby Names! Yes we are still arguing some days on what to name our little one. Some of the ones still on the list are the following. Please note we are not anywhere closer to finding a name than when we found out the he was a boy!

Janie's List:

Austin

Ethan

Cole

Logan

Nolan

Owen

Ryan

Sean

Benjamin

Ian

Jackson

Mikes List:

Ja'Micheal

Dieon

Primetime

Jackson Micheal

Siete

Marcio

Portugal/Spain Babymoon

2010-01-25T10:17:00.009Z

Way back in the month of Dec. Mike and I took a vacation to Portugal. It was a great way to get some much needed sun, and warmth. When we left Oxford it was very cold, no snow yet, but cold. We arrived in Faro, Portugal and the weather was a bit cloudy, but so much warmer. Yesss!

We visited many sites, and took a couple of day to lounge around the beach. In Portugal we went to a lighthouse, castles, a fort and a couple of marinas. Overall we had 3 great sunny and warm days, the other were overcast and rainy. We did end up being there on the coldest day of the year. Of course that would happen. The place we stayed was nice, twice as big as our flat. We had a kitchen, so a couple of days we cooked. It was nice.

The food: One of my favorite things was being able to eat the red meat. As stated before in my blog, the red meat here in England has a funky little taste to it. We went to the Butchers and got us some steak! Oh yeah! Not only was it very fresh, but it was cheap. We ate like kings that night. I did come across Blue Bell Ice Cream in Portugal. That was a very nice surprise. We went out to eat one of the nights, and I had some local fish. It was the best I have EVER had. The way they cooked it, with butter and lemon. A couple of mornings we hit up a popular and local little bakery. The pastries were insanely Delicious. We went back the next day as well. Freshly squeezed orange juice, and something that tasted like a kolache rocked my world those mornings. I couldn't be happier.

One of the days there we took a trip to Seville, Spain. I felt so much better being in a place that spoke Spanish. The trip was 2 hours to get there, but not much traffic. We saw the town walked around, went to the 3rd largest cathedral in the world (where we found out Christopher Columbus tomb is), ate a real Spanish paella. The only thing on my list that we did not see were some Flamenco dancers. I really wanted to see them, but we were only there for the day, and didn't want to drive back in the dark.

The following are some of our favorite pictures.

(Eating a paella.)

(Mike at our hotel)

(top of the tower in Seville, looking at the city.)

(Boats in Faro marina.)

(Mike's artistic shot!)

(Bull ring in Seville)

(Entrance to the church)

(The towner we climbed. No stairs)

(Lighthouse Cape St. Vincente "End of the World")

(A castle outside of Faro, Portugal.)

(A view from our hotel beach)

An old fort by Cape St. Vincente)

(A morrish castle in Silves, Portugal.)

(my artisitic shot.)

(Town of silves, the hills are covered in orange groves.)

Ella Jean Marie Walker

2010-01-21T20:52:00.003Z

Yay. Today we have a new little niece. She is so adorable we love her already. Both baby and mom are doing good. Congrats John and Leslie.

Stats:

7 lb 13 oz....

20.25 inches long

We are so happy for you guys, and wish we were in California to celebrate with you. Cant wait to meet her.

Project

2010-01-19T16:28:00.002Z

Mike has me working on a project this week. After a very successful outing this weekend, we found a really big baby store, Mothercare! Yay. So he has asked me to look at different stores and create an excel spreadsheet. That way we could see a list of all the things we will need for the first three months and their prices. I thought that this would be an easy thing to do, after two days working on this I am tired, and not done. Yes I do get distracted, and check my facebook, get hungry, get thirsty, catch up on an episode of The Office, take a nap. Oh well this can only help me learn to be more frugal, which is the opposite of what I do. Usually if I see something I like, I buy it and look at the price after.(Mike hates this about me.) I usually say I spent around 30 dollars, when its 39.99. He would tell me that I would always do this, and I did not really notice it until the other night when I went to buy some sour cream, he asked me how much it was, and I said under a pound. It was .99 pence. He caught me and called me out on it. I laughed, because it was so true. I am getting better, after all we are college students both without jobs. But I must say that at least I feel productive having this project. Not having a job, and having little to do, makes the day drag on.

Overall I am a person who loves gloomy weather. I enjoy the rain, and a cloudy day. I love it with a combination of semi warm weather, around 75/80 degrees. But since moving to England, I have missed the sun. Its cold when its gloomy and rainy. The last couple of days, we have had some lovely sunshine. With the snow melted, it looks and feels great. I am looking forward to the day I don't have to wear tights under my jeans to keep me warm. The bigger I get, the harder it is to layer.

Surprise! Surprise!

2010-01-14T14:13:00.002Z

We woke up this morning to some deliveries. I was expecting one and got three.

My friend Becca sent a package of baby clothes, and a present for me. It was like Christmas all over again. Mike felt a little left out. Sorry hun.

The second package was from my Aunt Aide. It took us a couple of minutes to figure out who sent it! Inside I found some lovely pj's and robes, as well as tons of little boy clothing. I totally got teary eyed. She totally out did herself. I love her, she is a very giving Aunt, always has been. It made my day opening up these packages, and feeling the love from back home. A great start to the day, it is only bound to get better.

The snow outside is melting, and the forecast predicts it will get up to 45 F, but rainy all weekend. I don't think I will see sunshine until sometime next week.

Question for Moms out there? Did the area around your navel hurt around the second trimester. I have been feeling a strange sensation, not pain, but uncomfortable. I want to scratch, but it feels like its under the skin surrounding my navel? Any thoughts...

In other news, Mike totally freaked out last night when Jr. kick him hard. He freaked, and it was funny. He was talking to our little man, and it totally responded to him, or Jr. was readjusting his position in the womb. Either way, Mike felt definite movement. Yay. Makes me so happy. But his reaction was the best part.

I really have not sat down and written any resolutions for this coming year. But off the top of my head I know a couple of things I want to work on.

Learn to use coupons. I have heard how much people save, and want to learn the art. I started a list on my blog to websites I think will help me save some $$$.
Becoming more self reliant. As I was studying the visiting teaching message for this month. I strongly felt it was written for me. I rely so much on Mike, and need to become a bit more independent. Especially in March/April when he will be gone to Africa for 3 weeks. Yikes.
I really want to pick up running again. It was something I used to love, but have not done in over 5 years. Once Jr. is born, I want to get back into it.
Become more active in my callings, and visit teaching. I want to get to really know, love, and care for my sisters.
Read my scriptures every day.
Learn to become a mom.
Be patient.(Especially around April/early May.)
I really want to try and learn a new hobby, or take a class in photography, and develop that as a hobby.

Rambling thoughts of a Pregnant woman

2010-01-11T15:41:00.005Z

I feel Fat. I just needed to put that out there and tell someone.

(23 weeks along)

Yes I know I am pregnant, and I am suppose to get bigger, but its not that easy. I feel like a hippo and I am only 23 weeks along. Yikes, I know the baby will get so much bigger, which means that I too will have a giant beach ball in my tummy by the time he comes out. I really shouldn't be complaining, but this is weird. It doesn't feel like me. This past week my eating habit were not helping my situation, but am determined to eat healthier this week. Overall I have done great, healthy and organic food, with the occasional sweet. Even over the holidays I managed to do good. But last week, I think my body was on sugar overload and wanted more. Along with that my new best friend, Heartburn has decided to show up, and stay. Tums help, but every time I eat something there he is.

Its Monday and I should be cleaning the flat, washing clothes, do my hair...but I have no energy. Up until Saturday, I have had tons of energy. Today I am chalking it up to a down day. Hopefully tomorrow it will all get done. The weather has been cold, windy, and snowy, so that has not helped me with my walks. But it sure is pretty to look at.

(Oxford City Center)

Baby Bowerbank- his kicks,turns are getting so much stronger. It is real nice to feel him move more often. Mike thinks he felt something the other night, but wasn't sure. It will happen soon enough. He seems to like moving the most right as I get ready for bed.

This past Saturday Mike and I headed out in search of a Baby's r Us. Compared to the ones in the states it was utter disappointment. Their selection of stuff was minimal. We took two buses to get there, sooo not worth it. This coming Saturday we are going to try Mothercare. Hopefully we will find stuff we like.

Names. Mike and I cannot agree on one. We still have time, but I am not sure if we will come to an agreement. He is stuck on "Deion Primetime Bowerbank", no joke. I absolutely hate the name. I am shooting for something more traditional/trendy.

**Sometimes I just need to vent, but I AM so happy to be pregnant, with all the up and downs that come along with it. We are blessed, and am greatful to God for this opportunity to become a mother.***

WinterWonderLand........

2010-01-06T14:39:00.006Z

Yesterday afternoon it started snowing, and as I look out the window it still is snowing. The official report was that Oxfordshire had received about 15 inches of snow, and we were to expect some more today. This morning Mike and I got all bundled up and headed for the shops in Summertown. Along the way we had more than just a couple of snowball fights. He won, as always, I made great snowballs, but my aim needs improvement. I think it has to do with the shift of gravity I am experiencing due to my pregnancy. Oh well! On the way back the snow ball fight continued, and I made some snow angels. We had tons of fun. I love the snow, and had been missing it. It reminds me of Virginia. And that puts a smile on my face.

A little catching up.

On Christmas Eve Mike and I stayed at home. I made Chinese food, and then we had hot cocoa, and opened one present. We had Christmas music playing in the background, and ate some treats. We snuggled up and watched Holiday in Handcuffs. Not the best made movie, but we sat through it all.

On Christmas Day we were invited to a Traditional Christmas Lunch at the Jackson's. They are friends of ours from the Oxford Ward. There were also two other couples, and it was nice to meet new people. We had Turkey, roasted potatoes, green beans, parsnips, Yorkshire pudding, and so much more. It was loads of fun, we even popped crackers and wore our hats! I am so grateful that we were able to spend the holiday with some friends, so we didn't have to spend it alone. Thanks Miles and Kristy, you were wonderful hosts!

When our friends came last week, they brought with the presents from family, and from them. Among them were the first gifts for our little Baby Bowerbank! Sooo cute! Thanks Megan and Amanda. A couple of days later, I bought a little something for our little man too.

Happy 2010!!!

2010-01-01T20:50:00.007Z

(Mike and I at Stonehenge)

It's been a busy couple of weeks, and I was a little under the weather. Still feeling a bit sick, but getting better! We rang in the New Year with our good friends Steve and Megan, who were staying with us this past weeks. It felt so good to have such good old friends here. Along with their arrival they also brought us some yummy American treats, as well as presents! Megan and Steve gave us our first baby clothes! I totally got emotional, but kept the tears back. They arrived on Sunday 27th, and left this morning.

Megan and I

(Steve and Megan)

We hit up London, Bath, Stonehenge, Cotswolds, and Avesbery. It was way too cold, and we decided not to pay to go see the stone in Stonehenge. We were able to take some cool pictures from the fence. The stones in Avesbery are older and it was free to get up close to them, but not as cool looking. The weather sucked all week, but it was fun to hang out, sight see, play games, and laugh at each other. Both Megan and I are prego, she is 5 weeks ahead of me, so among all the sight seeing we stopped at many of the local toilets! Mike rented a car, so it was fun and nerve wrecking seeing him drive on the opposite side of the the road.

(Steve, Megan, and I...classic England. Rainy, windy, and cold!)

Here is a clip of Mike being Mike at the Costwolds...I thought it was way funny! He always wanted a little duckie. Too bad they didn't want him! ;)

We Are Having A......

2009-12-23T17:22:00.003Z

Cars and trucks, or ribbon and bows

Follow the poem and soon you'll know

Twinkle twinkle little star

How we wondered what you are

Bottles, rattles, and cute little socks

Lullabies, laughter, and alphabet socks

Hugs and Kisses to make me smile

Dirty diapers that go on for miles

We are so thrilled to say

A little prince (pimp) is on his way

We're seeing blue wherever we go

This little slugger will have some flow!

This week is a wonderful mile stone in my pregnancy. I am half way there, 20 weeks. Yahoo! Okay ladies and gents so I am not the best at writing poems but I think you get the point. It totally was so unreal to hear the lady say it's a boy. I got very emotional. Since the start I had a feeling it was a boy, but I had dreams of a girl so it made it hard to know. But Mike is so freaking excited!!! He wanted a boy, and a boy is what he is going to get.

Carrot Cookies!

2009-12-10T19:45:00.005Z

(Here's a pict. of my final product)

So after a couple of days searching the Internet, I found a recipe that seemed to fit the one I remember from childhood. The biggest difference in this one among the many others I viewed was that the carrot was grated, not smashed. As a young child I was the one who my mom told to grate the carrot, hence, I know I am close. I was so excited to make this recipe, I could finally satisfy one my of many cravings I have been getting.

Here is the recipe:

1 c. of shortening
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. shredded carrots
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. of salt
Bake at 400 degrees for about 8-10 min.

My problem, well I walked to Summertown, and asked at various stores if they carried shortening. They looked at me funny, and said "NO". ugh. Then I searched the Internet for a substitute and found a couple. Not only that but after I got home I realized I only had one egg, so I added mashed banana in substitute for the other egg. Overall the cookies were good, but more cake like than I remember. I can't wait till I get back to try it with the right ingredients. It did satisfy the craving though, so I must admit, it was a success after all!

17 Weeks!

2009-12-03T16:17:00.003Z

17 Week Appointment!

After 17 weeks of being pregnant I finally hear our little one's heart beat! I have had over 6 ultra sounds already, but until today I had not heard the heartbeat! Of course, I cried a little! It was such a sweet sound, I was so astonished. Wow! Our next appointment will be on the23 of Dec. and hopefully we will find out if our baby is a girl or boy. This is my little belly, I totally stuck it out a bit more, but its growing!

The only bummer was that Mike was not with me at the appointment. Speaking of Mike he will be done with his first term by the end of the this week. Then a winter break, but he still has much reading to do. We put up our little Christmas Tree, due to the size of the flat it was inconvenient to get a big tree. So we settled for a 3 ft. Christmas Tree.

Christmas Cookie Baking!

2009-11-30T17:46:00.005Z

Christmas Cookies!

Here in Oxford, I'm a member of the New Comers Club. It is designed for the spouses of Oxford University Students. We meet once a week, do activities, and socialize. We do day walks, go on tours, book club, etc.

My friend Neha and I went and helped make some cookies the other day. It was so much fun. The gingerbread houses, men, and cookies were then sold for a charity in the area. I couldn't help but get in the Christmas Spirit! It has been with me ever since. Mike really likes for me to participate in the things that they do so that I can make more friends, and get out of the flat.

Afterward, I went to Wednesday market to buy some fruit and veggies for the week. Now I feel like making cookies again. Since I got pregnant I have been craving carrot cookies. My mom used to make them for us when we were little. When I last spoke to her she said,"I don't remember ever making you carrot cookies." So much for trying to get the recipe from her. Oh well, I will be combing the vast pages of the Internet in search of this recipe. If successful, will share with you.

Thanksgiving, A Great Success!

2009-11-28T17:34:00.006Z

Thanksgiving Day turned out great!

Mike and our friend Jonas had school on Thursday, so we had a lovely Thanksgiving Dinner. The food was delish, and we played a game afterwards. I wanted to eat everything in site, but my body would not let me. Overall I think that this year was the least amount of food I have eaten during Thanksgiving. I thought it would be the other way around. After my first plate of food, I couldn't eat any more. I had to walk around for a while so that I could fit in the dessert.

So in the effort to make our table nice, my friend Neha and I pooled our kitchen stuff together to make it nice. She had the linen and wine glasses, I had the candles, pears, and made the place setting cards. We were so happy with our results. It took a little more effort than usual, especially since all my lovely platters, and cooking things are nicely packed in storage in DC.

(Neha helping with the pie crust!)

Afterward we played phase 10 which we thought would take only an hour. 2 1/2 hours later I won!

Very Thankful

2009-11-26T15:20:00.004Z

This year we have been very blessed. We are so grateful for the blessings the Lord provides for us.

Top 10 List of what I am Thankful For:

My Wonderful, Thoughtful Husband Mike.
My Wonderful Davila & Bowerbank Family.
Becoming Pregnant after much trial.
Making it through my first Trimester.
The Greatest Friends a Girl could ask for in Texas, Virginia, Oxford, Africa!
The gospel and the truth it brings to people.
Learning to share the gospel more.
Moving to a beautiful country, and the friends made here.
The beauty of the earth!
Music.

As I smell the aroma of the Turkey baking in the oven, I am so grateful to have a chance to celebrate this wonderful Holiday with our new friends the Heirman! Who knew we would be able to celebrate Thanksgiving here in England. What a blessing! I miss my family dearly, and wish I could be able to celebrate with them. May the Lord Bless each and everyone of you as you gather around the table with Loved Ones! Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving.

London Was Calling

2009-11-23T16:08:00.011Z

Saturday rolls around, just like any other day. We woke up, I made some yummy French Toast and some Hot Cocoa. Then we decided last minute that it would be nice to go and see London. After all I was feeling good, and we need to take advantage of it. We didn't end up leaving our flat until 20 past 11 a.m. Looking back we should of taken the train in, after all it was the same price, but we would of gotten there in half the time.

Oh well, we hit the streets of London around 2 p.m. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace. It was nice. Too bad the moment we got off the bus, it started to rain a bit.

Then after a quick bite, (baby bowerbank makes my life miserable if I don't feed him/her) we saw Westminster Abby. Well only the outside, they closed the doors at 1:30 pm on Saturdays. Oh well, we at least had a chance to admire the architecture.

We got a quick glance at the House of Parliament, and Big Ben. Walked across the river. Took the Tube at Waterloo to Piccadilly Circus. We continued to walk, walk, and walk.

I wanted to see Harrods, so we WALKED from Piccadilly Circus to Harrods. My Oh My! I did not know how far it was. The walk was a bit more than two miles I think. By the time we got there I was so exhausted that I couldn't really shop around. Since my body couldn't handle too much more, and Mike was hating me for making us go to Harrods, we took a cab to Marble Arch and waited for our bus to take us back to Oxford. I slept all the way home. We made it back to our flat at about 10:30 p.m.

Overall I learned we should plan better in trying to take a trip. They have a bus service for only a pound to London when booked in advanced. We had fun and we will go again, but for now I am glad to be able to be a bit lazy!

Nurse! Nurse!

2009-11-19T17:30:00.002Z

Two weeks ago, I was admitted to the hospital here in Oxford. I had some severe abdominal pain that would not go away. It was such a blessing to know in my mind that the pain was too high for me to think it had anything to do with the baby. It almost felt like the dreaded panciaties that I had after my surgery back in September of 2008! Thank goodness it wasn't.

After some blood work and an ultra sound the doctors did not know what was causing my pain. They had planned to do an endoscopy but the doctor told me that he thought the risk was higher than what he would find out. So after a long day of fasting, no tests were done, and I was wheeled off to my bed. In my room I had the lovely company of three other women. All in their 80's. I did talk to one of them, her name was Doris, and she was lovely. My other two roomies were Kathryn and Mary. Having spent time there with them, my eyes were open and I came to like these women who I hardly knew as women who are loved by Heavenly Father. It was not easy at first but then when the nurse asked me if I wanted to change rooms, I didn't. Poor Kathryn would have to be reminded where she was and why. Every night she would wake up screaming Nurse! Nurse! Help Me! My own pain seems minimal compared to theirs.

At the end of the week our whole Ward was moved to the next floor, and I had some other roomies. I would often walk the hall wondering where my old roomies were. Two I saw, but my friend Doris(who by the way called me "Rita", I didn't have the heart to correct her.) was nowhere to be seen.

I was allowed to go home Thursday night, and they never told me what was wrong. All week spent there and no answers. I was sent home with the same medication they were giving me there. So far so good. I have felt so much better. I am so grateful for the friends we have here and their help in rides home from and to the hospital as well as for books to keep me company.

Once again I felt so bad for my dear husband. He had to write a 10 page paper that week and got behind as he tried to do it all, come visit with me, study, make me laugh, and go to class. Luckily the professor let him turn in his paper the following Monday!

Baby Bowerbank is 15 weeks along, and growing in my belly. I don't look prego at all, just a bit fat around my midsection. Time is passing by so quickly, it is a bit scary.

Halloween has come and gone.

2009-11-06T09:26:00.005Z

Mike and I in Bath.

I have come to the end of my first trimester, and I feel so blessed to have made it this far. With all the complications I had at first, I honestly did not think I would get here. But nonetheless here we are. These last two weeks I have been feeling so much better. My body, it seems is getting used to the idea that I am pregnant. If it wasn't for this slight cold I have had I would almost feel like my old self again. We had our 12th week ultrasound, and all seems okay with the baby.

Halloween in England is a bit different than in USA. Not all people celebrate it, and it is looked as something dark and evil. If they do dress up, it has to be something frightening. We did not see children out in the streets trick or treating either. The night before Mike and I were invite to a traditional Halloween Party at the Bowman's home. (I have new friends, yay!) We had some yummy dinner, frosted cookies, played games, and just hung out. I carved a pumpkin, and made some pumpkin rolls, and marshmallow popcorn for the party.

(The clip above is of an old Man in front of the Roman Baths making some money.)

On Saturday Mike and I got a lovely surprise from Mom and Dad Bowerbank. We has some beautiful flower and chocolates delivered to us! Thanks! Later we went shopping at some outlets that aren't too far from our home. It was a 20 min. bus ride and there we were at Bicester Village. They had everything from Gucci, Versace, D&G and so many more. The only down side, every store (with the exception for the very nice ones) smelled. In the middle of the court yard, it reeked of dead fish. Yuck! I was in search for a maternity store and failed to find a single one. Oh well! They did have many baby boutiques which I will be coming back to, once we know what we are having.

In Recent News

2009-10-22T09:20:00.005+01:00

Well we have been living in England for over a month now. It is wonderful, and there is so much history in every town. We have had the opportunity to visit a couple of of towns, we went up to the Cotswold's, and up to Bath! They are wonderful! We took the train there, and it was so much fun. I am getting used to the public transportation that everyone uses around here. It was tough at first, but now I can get to any place in Oxford by bus. For the most part I still have not made friends, but am working on it. The grocery stores have so much less than the states, but everything seems to be very fresh. Most of the food does not have preservatives in it so it spoils quite easily. We have to go shopping just about every other day. One of my favorite things to do on Wednesdays is go to city center and hit up the farmers market! They have everything and some things there.

(Museum in Oxford)

We are on the NHS medical system, and everything is free. It is different and a little weird, but what can you do. The way they have it set up is by location. If you live in Summertown for example you go to the Summertown Clinic and they have a variety of GP doctors. Once you have one then they refer you to which ever doctor you may need to see.

The reason we have been to the doctors much is because we are going to have a baby! That's right ladies and gentlemen, after much trying and seeing the fertility specialists, it has finally worked. On August we went and had an IUI, the last one before our move, we weren't too hopeful, but since our insurance covered it, we figured why not. Well so far, so good. I have had a little complications nothing a little bed rest cant help, but its worth it! Hence the part of me not making friends yet, its hard to make friends when you are stuck at home. Baby Bowerbank is due May 9. Let me tell you it has been a bit of a hassle to explain my IUI and all the medication I had been on to my GP and Midwife. We are excited, and he/she will be born here in Oxford.

(Me the Day of our IUI)

(The baby at 10 weeks) (The Baby at 6 weeks)

Mike:

He is working hard in school right now! The second week is almost over, and is reading so much. He has also been doing more than his share around the house, cooking, cleaning, and making sure all my needs are met. His matriculation (he has to wear the Harry Potter robes) was this past Saturday. Bought some new soccer shoes, and is playing with some of the guys in his college!

Janie:
Stuck at home, and always craving food that she cant have! She is always dreaming of Texas, and the great food that is there. Tired, and glad that there is only a week and a half before this first trimester comes to an end! Has been making tortillas from scratch to satisfy her Mexican food cravings,(wished I had learned as child, my little sister can make tortillas so much better than I can)hopefully they will eventually turn out round! Love the candy, and some food. I am still having strong aversions to their meat here, it smells funny!

See you in July

2009-10-07T20:37:00.003+01:00

That's right, I'll see you in July because apparently, if I listen to my professors and former students, I probably won't have much of a life outside of school for the next 9 months. Monday and Tuesday we had our Induction into the African Studies program here at Oxford and they were successful in scaring all of us into thinking that this was going to be a lot of work. The program is very different than US programs. We are only officially graded on four elements: Three final exams and your thesis. Also, if you get over 70 on any paper/test that is considered great. And it is normal to get 60s and even a few 50s. Anything below a 50 is a fail. On the first day we received our reading lists of what we are supposed to read before classes and be prepared to discuss....can you save overwhelming! We're talking 15 articles/books per week, per class! Thankfully former students came in and advised us to not try to read everything. Do what you can and then read summaries/reviews of the rest (except anything that is relevant to your thesis or a final exam you need to read). By the end of the day we are all pumped to start reading/scared that it was going to be painful. I asked the last question of the day to the former students, "So is it worth the pain?" They all said yes, which was re-assuring.

I am definitely a minority (for once in my life). I am the only American but there is a Canadian. They refer to us both as North Americans, which is funny because we don't think of ourselves that way very often.

My next task is to start reading and to pick a thesis topic. The thesis topic is going to be hard because we have received various pieces of advice from all over. All I know for sure is that I want to do something that is current, utilizes my Portuguese, and can help me get a job in a more international relations/foreign affairs role after graduation. I have about 4 weeks to submit my thesis title, so please feel free to suggest topics (perhaps Who will win the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? I'm sure I could do some kind of statistical analysis of the odds).

Everything else is the same here. Janie is in love with a website that allows her to watch all the American TV shows...and it even skips the commercials. We also got a 703 area code number to make it easier for people in the states to call us. E-mail us if you don't have it yet.

Lastly, we are excited to have friends already committed to come and visit us in December. Let us know if any of you are interested, we know a great flat in Oxford that is cheap where you can stay!

Cheers! (Almost said Cheerio...OK not really)

Wow, look at the buns on that one!

2009-10-01T21:07:00.007+01:00

That's what I think people are going to be saying about me in a few weeks. Let me tell you that my legs and butt have been getting a workout since we moved here. No car, no bike, just this fine set of legs and a bus pass.

On Monday, in order to save money, I walked from our flat down to the examinations room. To give you an idea on how far that is see below:

Okay, so it wasn't a 3.4 mile walk like the map says (I didn't have to follow the one-way streets), but it was probably a good 2.5-3 mile walk. I was dead when I got there and don't think I'll be doing that again. I definitely haven't walked this much since my mission and I'm pretty sure Janie hasn't walked this much ever, but it is good for you and forces me to exercise. My classes will only be about a 25 minute walk but I do plan on getting a bike soon. Janie will be getting her TV tomorrow, but only a 21" one...but who's counting.

A few observations from the past week and a half-

It is not easy opening a bank account in another country. I have been trying for a week now with no success. Armed with a letter of introduction from my college, I'm hoping it happens tomorrow. I have to get my student loan money somehow. Or maybe I'll just create a PayPal account to accept anonymous donations from wealthy philanthropists....

I just can't come to say "Cheerio" Nothing against the saying or anything but it just can't roll off my tongue. Cheers I will get used to but Cheerio? I don't know. We'll see if I change.

Living in a foreign country with a spouse is a lot different than doing it on your own. When we were preparing to leave, I didn't think about kitchen supplies and I laughed at Janie for wanting to bring her steak knives and potato peeler. In my mind, I was like all we need are a couple of plates, cups, and a frying pan. Evidently (and $200 later) I was wrong. We need pots, soup bowls, cutting boards, three pots, two frying pans, etc.) If I have to do it again, I'd ship a box of kitchen stuff....

It can be really confusing when you say you would like a pound of potatoes when pound can mean the weight or the dollar amount. When I said it the lady was like "You want a pound of potatoes or 4 pounds of potatoes for a pound?" I thought four pounds for the equivalent of $1.70 wasn't bad, but now Janie and I have to eat them (not to mention the 14 bananas I got for a pound, and the strawberries, and the oranges). The markets are definitely the best place to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. El Cheapo Tip #1

I have a feeling it isn't going to be easy finding Janie a job in Oxford. We have applied (actually I have done all the paperwork...it's like she isn't in a rush) to four or five places with no response. I'm thinking retail is her best bet...but hopefully something easy. I just don't want to have to dip into our savings or take out more loans.....I know I know, it will be worth it for the experience....I'm not convinced...yet.

Overall Oxford is very nice...smaller than I imagined with less shops than I imagined outside of the city centre (notice the British spell check of the work Centre, just getting ready for my thesis). I do think we will enjoy it and know time is going to fly. On the 17th I get to do my Harry Potter impression....we will be taking pictures that can be autographed for a small fee.

Across The Pond!

2009-09-23T09:29:00.002+01:00

So we have officially moved. We got our keys to our lovely but small flat on Monday. The flight was long, and I was not feeling the best. Up until Sunday I was okay, but once Sunday rolled around, I started to get really nervous. Mike was such a trooper. He carried six bags all over London, and Oxford.

Our place is small, but the layout helps it feel way bigger that what it is. The kitchen is so much smaller than the one back home, but it is functional. We bought some groceries, and I am already missing American food. We will be doing some exploring today which I am really excited about. There is so much to do in this town.

This week in Bath is the Jane Austen festival and I am trying to convince Mike to take me there. So far he said maybe, that is way better than a no!! The weather has been sunny, and nice. No rain so far, but that can always change in an instant. There are tons of shops downtown Oxford, we live about 1 1/2 mile from the center of oxford, so its not bad. Our flat is quiet!

Well if you have skype feel free to skype us since we dont have a phone yet. Janie.Bowerbank is our skype address!